Take My Hand
by dementedappletree
Summary: The Doctor offers Kurt an escape from his mundane life and the bullying he faces. Doctor!Blaine and Companion!Kurt.
1. Tired

**Author's Note: I saw a graphic on Tumblr, and that prompted the idea for this... not that I haven't wanted to write this for a while. I love both Doctor Who and Glee, and especially Klaine, so it was sort of inevitable wasn't it? I don't own Doctor Who or Glee, as you have probably guessed by now.**

He had set the TARDIS on random, hoping that something would happen to shake him out of his uncharacteristic bleakness. He'd been sort of drifting, ever since his last companion had left. He was getting tired... he felt old, oddly enough, even though he looked young. Younger than he'd looked for a while, actually. Strange, how that happened.

_WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH. _

The familiar sound jolted him back to reality, and he took a deep breath before pushing open the door.

Earth, obviously. Probably the twenty-first century. In... America? He gave the TARDIS an odd glance. He usually ended up in Britain for some reason. He seemed to be outside some sort of school, right at the end of the day, when all the kids were getting out. The TARDIS was well hidden, of course, behind some trees near the school building.

He leaned against one of them to watch, wondering if this was significant somehow. He never interfered with events on purpose, of course, but somehow trouble always seemed to find him.

The Doctor stood up straight. Was that-? It was. A smallish boy was being pummeled by a some larger ones. He ran forward.

"Hey!"

The biggest one turned around. "What?"

"You can't do that!"

"And who are you to say that, shorty?"

He stood up as tall as he could, which admittedly didn't make much of a difference. "I'm the Doctor."

"You look a little young to be a doctor," the boy scoffed.

"Well, I am. So leave him alone."

The tall boy and his friends gave him strange looks, then walked away, casting glances over their shoulders as they went.

The Doctor offered a hand to the boy on the ground. "You okay?"

The boy stood up and gave him a contemptuous glance. "Do I look okay to you?" He was covered in bruises, but had a strength to him that made him seem like he would be all right anyway. He was also taller than he had appeared when he was sprawled on the ground.

"I guess not. Sorry."

"Who are you anyway?" he asked angrily. The boy seemed embarrassed that the Doctor had witnessed his humiliation.

"I'm the Doctor. I said that, remember?"

"I was a little occupied while you were introducing yourself."

"Right." the Doctor put his hands in his pockets and stood there awkwardly.

They stood there in silence for a little while, until the Doctor remembered that he didn't know the boy's name.

"Well, I've introduced myself now... What's your name?"

"Kurt."

"And why were they beating you up?"

"They don't like the way I dress," Kurt said sarcastically.

The Doctor looked him up and down. He seemed to have impeccable fashion sense. "You look fine to me." _Really good, actually._ He squinted, confused. _Where did that come from? _He put it aside to examine later. He had more important things to attend to right now.

"Exactly."

The response didn't really make sense. "What do you mean?"

"It's not obvious?"

"No..."

Kurt sighed. "I'm gay."

"So?"

"So, this is the middle of Ohio, and the general public is not particularly accepting of those who presume to deviate from the norm."

"Oh."

Kurt changed the subject. "So where are you from? You sound English."

"I'm not. Well. I've spent a lot of time there, but I'm not from England."

"No?"

"I'm from..." The Doctor paused. Kurt probably wouldn't believe him, but he might as well say it anyway. It might take the boy's mind off his problems. "I'm an alien."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yeah right."

"No, really! I am!"

Kurt's expression held a challenge. "Prove it."

The Doctor broke into a wide smile. This was always his favorite part. "Okay. Come with me."

Kurt followed him, still looking doubtful. The Doctor led him to where the TARDIS was parked, hidden in the trees.

"Here it is," he said brightly.

Kurt was looking askance at the TARDIS. "I'll grant you that it's strange to see a blue box in the middle of some trees, but that doesn't make you an alien."

"True," the Doctor said. He opened the door and gestured for Kurt to go inside.

The boy shrugged and walked through the door, with the Doctor right behind him.

Kurt stared around the large room, eyes wide. "It's bigger on the inside!"

"I noticed," the Doctor said.

Kurt quickly returned to his cool demeanor. "This still doesn't prove anything."

"Really? People are usually pretty impressed by the whole 'bigger on the inside' thing."

"Yeah, but that could just be advanced technology. And what kind of spaceship is a little wooden box?"

"It's _bigger _on the _inside_," the Doctor reminded him.

"Yeah, I got that. But it doesn't exactly look like it could travel in space."

The Doctor patted the TARDIS comfortingly, hoping that she wasn't too insulted. "You try it!"

"I'm human," Kurt said. "I can't breathe with no air."

"Exactly. You can't. So stop making fun of my TARDIS."

"Your what?"

"TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimensions in Space."

Kurt raised his eyebrows. "Time?"

"Did I forget to mention that it's also a time machine?" the Doctor said innocently. "Silly me."

"You're really not convincing me..." Kurt said.

"Fine. Then I'll just have to show you," the Doctor replied. He punched in the settings and pulled the lever, sending them to another time and space.


	2. Alien

**Author's Note: I apologize if there are any errors with the Doctor's history, and also with the setting for this and the next few chapters. Please feel free to correct me on anything that's wrong. That said, I'm pretty pleased with how this story is turning out so far. Hopefully you guys will like it too. And of course, I do not own Glee or Doctor Who, as much as I would like to write for either show. Or both. ;) I have unrealistic dreams, okay?**

The TARDIS made whooshing sounds, complete with lights and strange pops. Kurt looked around warily, trying not to show his discomfort. The... boy? Man? He settled on the Doctor. The Doctor who had rescued him from Karofsky and the others was watching him carefully for a reaction, and Kurt never showed a reaction if he could help it.

The Doctor was very cute, actually. He may have been an alien (Kurt still wasn't convinced on that point), and a short one at that, but he had a nice face and amazing eyes, and... _Stop that, _Kurt told himself. _Not appropriate right now._

The whooshing stopped, and the Doctor smiled. "Here we are!"

"Where?" Kurt asked.

"Not sure," the Doctor replied. "I like to keep it a surprise."

Kurt wasn't sure what to say to that. They could be _anywhere. _If the Doctor was telling the truth, that is.

"So? You ready?"

Kurt nodded and opened the door.

It was obviously different, he noted. They'd definitely changed locations, which made him doubt a little less. They were still in a forest, but the trees were taller and closer together.

"Where are we?" he asked again.

"I think it's still the States," the Doctor said, looking around. He was standing close to Kurt, and the boy tried hard not to turn red at the proximity. "Judging by the trees. Not quite sure _when, _though. We should find some people."

"Okay," Kurt said. "How?"

The Doctor looked surprised. "We walk. How do you normally find something?"

"Right. I... didn't think of that."

The Doctor shook his head sadly. "Kids these days. Always driving instead of walking."

"You can talk!" Kurt said. The Doctor didn't look much older than him.

"_I," _the Doctor said, "am over nine hundred years old, thank you very much."

Kurt's mouth fell open. "_What?_ You can't be."

"This is my thirteenth regeneration."

"Your thirteenth what?"

"Regeneration. It happens when I die," the Doctor explained.

"When you _die?"_

"Yup," he said, smiling. "Quite routine, really."

"But... you don't look old at all."

"I get a new body every time I regenerate. Admittedly, I'm still getting used to looking this young," he said, looking down at his body, "but it's fun anyway. I still haven't been ginger, though," he said wistfully.

"Ginger?"

"You know. Red hair, awesome personality, makes me look sexy," the Doctor said, with a slight wink.

Kurt almost said 'You already look sexy_', _but stopped himself in time. "Well, we should probably try to find some people."

"Right. Let's go! Or, as I used to say, 'Allons-y!'"

"You speak French?" Kurt asked.

"Not exactly..." the Doctor said. "Well, I could if I wanted to. I'm quite clever. But the TARDIS translates for us, so I don't really need to learn any languages."

"Okay..." This was getting even weirder, if that was possible. Kurt was beginning to wonder if it was just a very elaborate dream, but if it was, he was enjoying himself.

They began to walk through the trees.

"We should go downhill," the Doctor said.

"Why?"

"Downhill means water," he said. "And most towns are built on water, especially early ones. This forest looks pretty untouched, so I'd guess we've travelled back in time rather than forward."

Kurt nodded. It made sense. After a while, the trees began to thin, and they saw a rudimentary town with old-fashioned wooden buildings. There was singing coming from one of the buildings.

"A church?" he said to the Doctor.

"I would guess so, judging by the cross on the top."

"Oh. Right."

They stood in silence for a moment, then Kurt had another question. "Do you know where we are now?"

"Looks like around the 1600s," the Doctor mused. "From the architecture... I'd have to see some of the people first. You can usually tell by the clothing."

"So..." Kurt said. "I believe you now. About being an alien."

"Awesome! I knew you'd come around in the end." The Doctor was smiling brightly, and Kurt tried not to swoon.

_Stop, stop, stop! He's an **alien, **remember? And he's over nine hundred years old! _That was hard to believe though, when the alien in question was standing in front of him looking completely gorgeous and exactly the right age for Kurt to fall for him.

"But. Um. Where are you from? Not Earth, obviously."

"Not Earth," the Doctor laughed.

"Even though you look human."

"Well, actually, humans look like _us. _We're a far older race than you." His face fell. "We were, anyway."

"Were?"

"They're dead," the Doctor said. "And it's my fault."

He looked so sad that Kurt wanted to hug him, but wasn't sure if he should. They hadn't really reached that point. "I'm sure it's not."

"No. It really is." He sounded very certain of that.

"What happened?" Kurt said, hoping that he'd feel better if he talked about it.

"There was a war," the Doctor told him. "A great war, a Time War. The universe was collapsing..." He looked older when he talked about it, and Kurt could almost believe that he really was as old as he said. "I had to stop it."

Kurt was almost afraid of the answer, but he had to ask anyway. "How?"

"I trapped them in a Time Lock. No one can get in or out." He looked even sadder. "Except... well. That doesn't count."

Kurt would have asked, but he didn't want to interrupt.

"So they're all gone. And now I'm alone."

"You're not alone," Kurt said. "You've got me."

The Doctor smiled. "That's true. Probably not for very long, though."

"Why not?" Kurt said. He could imagine travelling through time with this Doctor, seeing historical events and other planets. To think he'd always dreamed of New York, never knowing how much more was out there.

"They never stay..." the Doctor said. "They always leave in the end." He sighed. "I mess up their lives."

"What do you mean? It seems like you make them better to me."

"Thanks. But bad things happen around me. And they hurt people I care about. So my friends die, or they leave, once they get sick of it. Or..."

"Or what?"

"Donna didn't die, or leave. Well, not by choice. She... I had to erase her memories, or she would have burned..."

"That's horrible," Kurt said. The Doctor seemed more and more miserable. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," he said, evidently trying to appear cheerful. "But you don't want to hang around with me too long."

"Sure I do," Kurt said. "That won't happen to _me._"

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, when they noticed people coming out of the church.

"1600s! I was right!" His satisfied smile drooped, replaced with a look of horror. "Puritans!"

"What's wrong with Puritans?" Kurt asked.

The Doctor didn't need to answer. As he opened his mouth again, a man spotted them and shouted, "Witch! WIIIIIIIIIIITCH!"


	3. Names

**Author's Note: Here's the next part. I get the feeling that there will be a lot of cliffhangers in that story... Sorry. I'm not that sorry, though. ;) As you know, I don't own Glee or Doctor Who, as much as I'd like to. I wouldn't mind meeting certain members of the cast, either. *cough* Darren Criss,** David Tennant,** Chris Colfer *cough***

The Doctor felt a second of panic. He couldn't even manage to keep his new... friend safe for one short trip. But his normal, rational side quickly took over. At least, as the side of him that was as rational as he ever got.

"Do you think we should maybe run?" Kurt said, looking surprisingly calm.

"No," he said.

"Why not?"

"Because they'd catch up with us." It was true, the men from the church were closing in. "And running is usually a sign of guilt."

"So... what exactly do we do?"

The Doctor was struck by the idea that Kurt _trusted _him. Any normal person would have run by now, but Kurt was taking his advice as though it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Which showed that he was possibly insane, but it meant a lot anyway. "We reason with them."

"You can't reason with religious people!" Kurt argued.

"Sure you can," he replied. "I've done it loads of times."

The men were upon them now. "I arrest you on the charge of being a witch!" one of the men shouted, grabbing at Kurt's arms. He was enthusiastically supported by several others, but a few hung back. The most notable of these was the priest, who was mumbling about there being 'no witches in Salem'.

"Hi!" he said. "I'm the Doctor!"

The men ignored him, except for the priest, who clutched at him in relief.

"You're the doctor I sent for!"

"Yes!" he said, startled by this turn of events. "Yes, yes I am."

"It's all right!" the priest told the others. "He's the doctor!"

They turned to him. It was obvious from their expressions that they had nothing but contempt for him.

"Then who is this?" the man who had grabbed Kurt asked, looking in distaste at Kurt's feathered hat and pink shirt.

"That's my... assistant," the Doctor told them. "Kurt-"

"Hummel," the boy supplied. "Kurt Hummel."

"And I'm Blaine Anderson," he said.

Kurt looked at him in surprise, but wisely chose not to comment.

"And why is he wearing... _that_?" the man asked.

"He had a... strange upbringing," the Doctor replied. "I'm trying to wean him of the habit, but it's going slowly."

"I see," the man said, eyeing him distrustfully.

"Well!" the priest said hastily. "Maybe you should take a look at my Betty."

"Good idea," the Doctor said. "Why don't you take us to her?"

The priest nodded and led the way, followed by the others, who looked disgruntled at being robbed of the chance to arrest a witch.

Kurt walked close to him, evidently wanting to question him about his choice of name. "Blaine? I thought you were the Doctor?"

"I am," he said. "Blaine Anderson is a pseudonym. I used to go by John Smith, but that blended in a bit _too _much, if you know what I mean."

Kurt nodded. "So what is your real name?"

"I'm the Doctor," he said, hoping Kurt would leave it at that.

"Yes... but you must have a name besides that."

"It wouldn't make sense to you."

"Don't give me that," Kurt said, sounding annoyed. "It doesn't matter whether it would make sense to me or not."

The Doctor sighed. "Names have power. And I don't want to repeat mine here."

Kurt looked at him suspiciously, but seemed to accept this answer.

They reached the priest's house and went upstairs, leaving most of the men behind.

"Betty?" the priest said cautiously. "Wake up now."

The girl on the bed remained still.

"Betty! Wake up!" he said, sounding panicked. When she refused to wake, he turned to the Doctor. "You must do something," he said. "Or they'll be accusing us of witchcraft."

"I'm sure it's not that," the Doctor said. He moved forward and laid a hand on her forehead. "How long has she been like this?"

"Since this morning," the priest said. In an undertone, he added, "I found them dancing in the forest."

Kurt looked confused, but the Doctor shot him a look that said to keep quiet. "You permit dancing?"

"Of course not!" the priest said. He looked at a beautiful girl sitting in the corner. The Doctor hadn't noticed her before. "They will be whipped, you can be sure of that."

He nodded, knowing that it wouldn't do any good to protest. "Well, I think we should-"

A man appeared at the door, and the occupants of the room turned around. "Mr Parris? I'm Mr Hale. You sent for me?"

The priest, Parris, looked from the Doctor to Mr Hale, appearing baffled. "But- he-"

"Time to be going, I think," the Doctor said.

He and Kurt rushed for the door, ignoring the shouts for them to stop. They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Kurt turned to him. "What do we do?"

"Run!" the Doctor said.

"But you said-"

"I know what I said. RUN!"

Kurt obeyed, fast outpacing him as the men chased them. He heard shouts behind them, and attempted to run faster.

"Hey!" the Doctor said. "Wait!"

Kurt slowed slightly, and grabbed his hand, dragging him along. The Doctor tried to ignore the rush of heat that coursed through him. He really _did _need to examine that...

They had soon left the men far behind. The Doctor guessed that they were reluctant to enter the forest, believing it to be full of demons. He and Kurt collapsed against the TARDIS, breathing hard.

"Are you okay?" the Doctor asked.

"I'm fine," Kurt panted. Once he had caught his breath, he fixed the Doctor with an icy look. "I thought you said not to run?"

"That was before they knew who we were," he explained. "I wanted to examine them a little. It's not that often you get a chance to see to Salem."

"Salem?" Kurt asked. "That was _Salem?"_

He nodded. "Right before the witch trials. Just as trouble was beginning to stir... Fascinating, isn't it?"

"More like terrifying. And it proves my point. You can't reason with religious people," Kurt said.

"Well, if you didn't notice, it was going fine up until Hale arrived."

"I guess," Kurt said doubtfully. "Still, in future, I'd like your escape plans to be a bit more specific than 'run'."

"In the future?" the Doctor asked, surprised. "You still want to travel with me? Despite the high chance of injury, death, or being arrested for witchcraft?"

"Of course!" Kurt cried. "I want to see _everything._ Who'd turn down the chance to see the whole entire universe?"

"A lot of people," the Doctor told him. "It's too strange for most of them. They just don't believe it, or they get scared and want to stay at home."

Kurt shook his head. "Not me."

"So, Kurt Hummel. You want to be my Companion?"

"_Yes,_" Kurt said. "If you'll let me."

He opened the door and gestured for Kurt to go inside. "Well then. The whole entire universe awaits."


	4. Shopping

**Author's Note: Sorry that you had to wait for the update, I'm pretty busy at the moment. I'll try to update at least once a week, though. As you know, I don't own Glee or Doctor Who, or the characters. The only thing that's mine is the plot. Or lack thereof. ;) Hope you like it, and feel free to suggest places that you'd like them to go in the comments. Thank you!**

Kurt leaned against the inside of the TARDIS. It was surprisingly comfortable, but he still winced, hoping the Doctor wouldn't notice.

"You okay?" the Doctor asked.

"I'm fine," Kurt said.

The Doctor gave him a sympathetic look. "So... you get bullied a lot, huh?"

"I do." Kurt folded his arms, trying to communicate that he didn't want to talk about it. The Doctor, of course, did not take the hint.

"Why?" He seemed like he genuinely wanted to know, which made a huge contrast to all the people he knew that only pretended to care.

Kurt sighed. "I told you. They don't like that I'm gay."

"Why not?" he said, looking confused.

"I don't know... they feel threatened, I guess."

The Doctor still looked baffled. "Threatened by what?"

"By me. I might rub off on them," he said bitterly.

"But you're nice!"

Kurt laughed slightly at that. "Thanks." It occurred to him that the Doctor wasn't just being sympathetic. He was actually confused. "This never happens with... your people?"

"Time Lords," the Doctor supplied. "And no. At least, it didn't. We were beyond that point in our evolution."

"Must be nice," Kurt sighed wistfully.

The Doctor put a hand on his arm, and Kurt managed not to jump. "It gets better in the future, you know."

"It does?" Somehow Kurt hadn't quite grasped that the Doctor _knew _these things. He'd _been _there.

"Sure. In fact, I have a friend who basically flirts with men, women, humans, aliens... anything that moves. Or doesn't move," he added thoughtfully.

"_Doesn't _move?" Kurt queried, trying to picture the possibilities.

"Don't ask," he said, making a face.

Kurt laughed and the Doctor smiled at him, making his heart swoop.

"So," the Doctor said, suddenly businesslike. "Where do you want to go? All of time and space is at your fingertips."

"Can I see whether I make it on to Broadway?" Kurt asked eagerly.

"No. Definitely not. You can't mess with your own time line."

"Oh... so there are rules?"

"Well, that's the main one. Anyway, you wouldn't really want to know your own future. It would spoil the surprise."

"I guess," Kurt said. He thought for a moment. "How about Wales?"

"Wales? Why?"

Kurt shrugged. "I like Welsh accents."

"That's as good a reason as any, I guess. Wales it is." The Doctor pressed some buttons, then pulled a lever, and the room was filled with colored lights. Kurt watched them, smiling at the fact that this somehow seemed normal and logical.

The TARDIS made the now familiar whooshing noises, signaling that they had arrived.

"Why does it make that sound?" Kurt asked.

The Doctor looked thoughtful. "I've never really thought about that. It just does, I guess."

Kurt frowned, but let it go in favor of stepping out into a whole new country. He pushed open the door and stepped into an alleyway that led onto a busy road.

"What do you think?" the Doctor asked.

Kurt walked to the end of the alleyway and glanced around. The people didn't look particularly unusual, and there was the normal buzz of conversation that came with any crowded street. It did have a slightly different texture to it, which he supposed came with any place you'd never been to before.

"Pretty much the same as anywhere," he said.

"What do you want to do?" the Doctor asked, looking slightly disappointed that he wasn't more amazed.

"Just wander around I guess," Kurt said. He started off down the street, and the Doctor followed.

Despite the people being quite similar, the architecture was fascinating. Kurt stared around it awe."It's so _old_!"

The Doctor chuckled. "To you, I suppose."

Kurt gave him a look. "There's no need to act superior just because you're a 'nine hundred-year-old Time Lord' who's never impressed by anything."

"Sure I am," the Doctor said. "I'm impressed by you."

Kurt tried to ignore the fluttering of hope in his chest. "Me? Why?"

"You're brave."

Kurt was feeling a little warm, despite the cold air. "Thanks." He shivered, and the Doctor looked concerned.

"You're cold?"

"I'm fine." Then he noticed the goosebumps rising on him arms. "A little," he admitted.

"We can get you a coat, if you want."

"I don't have any money," Kurt said.

"Neither do I," said the Doctor.

"Then what-"

"Follow me!" the Doctor said cheerfully. He went to the nearest ATM and pulled out a small device that Kurt had never seen before.

"What's that?" he asked warily.

"My Sonic Screwdriver," said the Doctor proudly.

"But what does it _do_?"

"Everything," he said, rather unhelpfully in Kurt's opinion. The Doctor pointed it at the ATM and it made a buzzing, whirring noise, which was immediately followed by money shooting out of the machine.

"Where can I get one of those?" Kurt asked, eyes wide.

"They're pretty rare," the Doctor said. "And I only have one." He clutched it to his chest possessively.

"Okay," Kurt said, disappointed. "So. Shopping?"

The Doctor sighed. "All of time and space, and he wants to go shopping."

"It was your idea!" Kurt protested.

The Doctor waved this away. "Beside the point."

Kurt shook his head, but walked beside him until they found a large clothing shop. Kurt walked in, looking with interest at the different clothing styles. He could _definitely _see potential with some of this stuff. He was oddly drawn to a large selection of trench coats in one section of the shop.

"What do you think?" he asked the Doctor. There was no answer. "Doctor?" There was no answer. He turned around, and couldn't see his friend anywhere. He walked down a few aisles, but with no sign of the man he'd come to care about in an astonishingly short space of time. He began to feel slightly panicked, and resolved to ask the next person he saw.

Kurt walked up to a tall man with dark hair, who had his back to him. "Excuse me? Have you seen-"

The man turned around and broke into a huge smile, then held out his hand to shake, introducing himself warmly. "Captain Jack Harkness."


	5. Flicker

**Author's Note: I don't own Glee or Doctor Who, I'm just mixing up the two universes and hoping it turns out well. I'm glad you all liked the introduction of Jack so much. :D It makes me happy, because I love Jack too. Let flirting!Jack and pretending-not-to-be-jealous!Doctor commence!**

The Doctor was watching Kurt and smiling. He just looked so _happy, _surrounded by all those clothes. The next moment, he was distracted by a shimmering at the corner of his eye. He turned his head, and it disappeared, but was back a second later. A headache began to build...

He looked around for Kurt, but his friend was gone. "Kurt?"

The shimmering was getting stronger, threatening to cloud his vision. "Kurt!" The headache built, like a wave, and then broke, disappearing as quickly as it had come. And the moment it was gone, the Doctor forgot about it, as though it had never been.

The Doctor blinked. Where was Kurt? He walked through the aisles until he saw the tall, skinny form accompanied by an even taller man with dark brown hair. His eyes widened. Was that _Jack_?

He sauntered forward, watching the two of them together. "Hi. I didn't expect to see you here."

Jack looked him up and down, and smiled confidently. "Captain Jack-"

The Doctor waved his hand away. "I know who you are."

"You do? I don't know you..." Jack said, frowning slightly. "I'm sure I would have remembered." His eyes lingered a bit too long on the lower half of the Doctor's body.

The Doctor glanced at Kurt, who was looking somewhat confused.

"You've met?" Kurt said.

"Kurt Hummel, Captain Jack Harkness. Jack, meet Kurt. Although I'm sure you've already introduced yourself," he said, giving Jack an admonishing look. He did not have the grace to look embarrassed. "And I'm the Doctor," he added, remembering that Jack hadn't yet seen him in this form.

Jack's smile grew even wider. "Doctor! You've changed! And, may I say, your Companions just get better and better looking."

Kurt turned pink, and uncharacteristically did not say anything in response. The Doctor felt a surge of protectiveness, almost... possessiveness. No. Just protectiveness. He was taking care of Kurt. Nothing more. "Jack, you're scaring him."

"What?" Jack said. "It's true."

Kurt got his voice back, and openly checked him out. "I could say the same to you."

Well. That was unexpected. Kurt was flirting back. The Doctor felt a strange need to distract them somehow. "He's the friend I told you about," he said to Kurt in a slightly warning tone.

"Oh!" Kurt suddenly looked a little less interested, although not quite as much as he would have hoped. The Doctor guessed that he didn't find it quite as flattering when he was being flirted with by someone who would go for 'anything that moved', no matter how attractive that person was.

"You mentioned me?" Jack said.

"He said you were from the future," Kurt told him.

"I don't like to shout that _everywhere_," Jack said, glancing around to check no one had heard. "But yes."

"That's amazing," Kurt said, smiling at Jack. The Doctor suddenly wished Kurt would look at _him _like that.

Kurt had a some clothes draped over his left arm. He held one of them up for the Doctor to see. "What do you think?"

It was a trench coat.

"What?" said the Doctor. Why had Kurt chosen a _trench coat, _of all things?

Kurt's face fell. "Don't you like it?"

"No! I mean, I'm sure it would be great. Why don't you try it on?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow, but turned away to find the changing rooms. The Doctor quickly snapped his attention back to Jack when he realized that he was following Kurt with his eyes.

Jack was looking at him sympathetically. "Brings back memories, huh?"

The Doctor nodded. "I haven't worn one of those in a while." He shot Jack an accusing look. "Was that your idea?" Jack, of course, was wearing a trench coat too.

"No, he came up with that on his own."

Jack was surveying him knowingly, and the Doctor looked away, uncomfortable.

"You like him, don't you?" Jack said teasingly.

"Sure, he's my Companion."

"You know what I mean," Jack said.

"I have no idea," the Doctor said, avoiding his gaze.

"Uh huh," said Jack, obviously not believing a word of it. "Where'd you find him?"

"He's from some backwards town in Ohio. They don't appreciate how amazing he is," the Doctor said fiercely. "I love humans, but they can be so _dense._"

Jack was smiling again.

"Stop that!" the Doctor said.

Kurt returned, wearing a blue shirt, some _incredibly _tight skinny jeans, and the dark brown trench coat over top.

"Wow," the Doctor said involuntarily. Kurt really did have amazing fashion sense.

Kurt smiled, and turned to Jack. "You like it?"

Jack nodded, looking Kurt up and down again. "Immensely."

The Doctor fought an urge to snatch Kurt away. "_Jack._"

Jack smiled at him again. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Prior claim."

"_Quiet_," the Doctor said. Jack could be so _infuriating _sometimes.

Kurt looked at him questioningly, but didn't say anything, for which he was thankful.

They bought the clothes, and walked along the street, not heading for anything in particular. The Doctor smiled every time Kurt mentioned something that he liked about Cardiff.

"It's great here, isn't it?" Jack said. He seemed to have backed off a little, which made the Doctor feel a little less annoyed with him.

The Doctor noticed a strange flickering from the corner of his vision. He whipped his head around, trying to catch it, but it disappeared, only to reappear a moment later.

Jack and Kurt exchanged glances.

"Doctor?" Kurt said.

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something, but the flickering spread in front of his eyes, and the ground rushed up to meet him as everything went black.


	6. Unconscious

**Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! I apologize in advance for anything I get wrong about the Doctor or Jack's history. I haven't watched every episode of Torchwood or Doctor Who, so it's possible I've missed some crucial information and gotten some facts wrong. That said, it should be obvious that I don't own Doctor Who. Or Glee. That reminds me: Glee later! Hopefully I'll be able to watch it. :D In the meantime... enjoy!**

"Doctor? Doctor!" Kurt fell to his knees, and began to shake the Doctor, trying to wake him up. It didn't work. Jack was kneeling on his other side, examining him with what looked like a cellphone.

"He's unconscious," Jack said.

Kurt gave him a look. "I can see that."

"Right," Jack said. "Sorry. I can't understand what knocked him out, though..."

The Doctor's chest was rising and falling normally, which relieved Kurt.

A young woman ran up, tucking a phone into her pocket. "Is he okay?"

"I don't know what happened," Kurt said. "He just collapsed."

"I could call the hospital," she offered.

"No!" Jack and Kurt said at the same time.

"Why not?" she said, looking confused at their vehemence.

They looked at each other.

"Um..." Kurt said.

She seemed interested at this response. "Is he on the run or something? You can't take him to a hospital because he'd be recognized? Although," she said. "_I _wouldn't mind recognizing _him_. He's _cute._"

This woman was becoming annoying very quickly. "No, nothing like that," Kurt told her. "It's all right, we can take care of him."

"Are you sure?" she said. "Do you have somewhere you can take him?"

"Yeah. It'll be fine," he assured her.

Jack was still checking the Doctor over, trying to find out what was wrong. "It's like..." he said, thinking hard. "There's _something. _Something not quite- Did he eat anything unusual while he was with you?" he asked, directing the question at Kurt.

"No," Kurt said. "I haven't been with him that long. We only went to-" he stopped. The woman was still there. "We really can take care of it," he told her. "You don't have to stay."

"But I want to," she said, still looking at the Doctor in a way that made Kurt uncomfortable.

Jack seemed irritated with her too. "Really. He'll be fine." Jack held up something for her to see, and she nodded.

"Okay. You can handle it." She walked away, looking back at them a couple of times.

"How did you do that?" Kurt asked. "I thought she was never going to leave."

"Psychic paper," Jack said. "It shows you whatever I want it to."

"Huh?"

"She probably thought I was a doctor or something," Jack explained. "It comes in handy a lot."

Kurt nodded, wondering where he could get some. These people had some very cool technology. However, he had more pressing concerns.

"What were you going to say?" Jack asked.

"We went to Salem, before," Kurt said. "That's all."

"_Salem? _Why there?"

Kurt shrugged. "He set it on random, just to show me what it could do."

"He wanted to impress you, huh?" Jack said, looking interested at this revelation. "He _is _moving fast."

"What?" Kurt asked.

"Nothing," Jack said. "Anyway. What happened while you were in Salem?"

"I got accused of being a witch several times," Kurt said. "Other than that, not much."

Jack laughed. "Why?"

"They didn't like my clothes," Kurt said. He was still somewhat miffed about that.

Jack laughed harder.

"It's not funny!" Kurt said.

"Sure it is," Jack said. "But that doesn't solve our problem. I think we're going to have to go back."

"What?" Kurt said, aghast. He never wanted to see that place again.

"I'm sorry," Jack said. "But it's the only thing I can think of that might have made this happen, unless he contracted some disease before he met you."

Kurt sighed. He didn't like the idea, but he would do it to save the Doctor. "Salem it is."

"I'll have to call my team," Jack said. "Just so they know where I've gone."

"Team?" Kurt asked. But Jack already had his phone out, assuring someone on the other end that he would 'only be a minute'. Jack got a sweet, fond expression on his face, and Kurt wondered who it was that he was speaking to like that.

Jack ended the call and picked the Doctor up, cradling him carefully in his arms. "Where's the TARDIS?"

"Over there," Kurt said, pointing in the direction of the blue box.

"I'll follow you," Jack said.

Kurt walked next to him, full of worry about the Doctor. Had he missed something while in Salem? Was this somehow his fault? He shook his head. Nothing would be solved by him worrying about it. He would just have to work it out with Jack's help.

"So how do you know the Doctor?" he asked Jack.

"We met a while ago while I was still working as a con artist," Jack told him. "He had a very good looking Companion then, too."

Kurt ignored this comment. "You were a con artist?"

"Not anymore," Jack assured him, smirking slightly. "Now I work at Torchwood."

This, of course, meant absolutely nothing to Kurt.

Jack saw his baffled expression and explained. "We investigate strange events and alien occurrences. Sort of like the Doctor but on Earth instead of throughout the universe."

"I see." It was still strange to hear the word 'alien' tossed casually around. Kurt wondered if all of them were as attractive as the Doctor, then stopped himself. That was really not constructive right at this moment.

"I used to travel with him," Jack said, looking a little sad.

"What happened?" Kurt asked.

"I decided that I my team here needed me more," he said. He glanced down at the Doctor's unconscious form. "And I pined after the Doctor for too long." He gave Kurt a considering look. "What exactly is it that you have?"

"Huh?" Kurt said. He had even less idea what Jack meant than when the man had mentioned Torchwood.

"You know... to captivate him like that."

"Who?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "The Doctor."

"What do you mean?"

Jack shook his head. "Never mind."

They had reached the TARDIS, and Kurt tried to open the door. "It's locked."

"Oops," Jack said. "Well, the Doctor has a key."

He set the Doctor gently on the ground and Kurt, blushing, rummaged around in his pockets to find the key. He unlocked the door and was met by another problem.

"I don't know how to work the TARDIS."

"It's okay," Jack said. "I do."

He set the coordinates, and then they were rushing back in time, to where they hoped they'd find a way to revive the Doctor.


	7. Blind

**Author's Note: So. The next chapter. All will be revealed. ;)**

**I still don't own Glee, Doctor Who, or the Crucible, which I will be referencing some more in this chapter.  
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**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter! **

**P.S. Has anyone seen this? I love it! http :/ /www ./ watch?v=7Jv010 KRU4Q It seems to fit this story somehow...** **I can imagine Kurt singing it, ** **too. I always felt sorry for Jack, loving the Doctor and having him not notice. Anyway. On to the story.  
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The TARDIS arrived, and Kurt felt his heart beating fast. It was a strange feeling, going back to something he was afraid of. He looked down at the Doctor, who was lying on the ground, looking helpless, and Kurt felt a rush of anger towards whoever had done this to him. The Doctor didn't strike him as someone who would be used to being helpless.

"I think we're going to have to leave him here," Jack said reluctantly.

Kurt's gaze snapped to him. "What? We can't leave him here alone!"

"We can't take him with us."

"So you can stay here with him," Kurt said.

"I'm not letting you go out there alone," Jack told him. "And it's not practical to carry him around with us."

"But..." Kurt bit his lip. He knew it made sense. He knelt down and whispered, "I'm sorry," touching the Doctor's cheek softly. He gave himself a few seconds, then stood up. "I'm ready."

Jack gave him an approving look. "Let's go then."

Kurt had a thought. "Won't they recognize me?"

Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out a blond wig. "Wear this."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Why do you have that?"

Jack winked, and Kurt decided he probably didn't want to know. He took the wig and put it on, wishing there was a mirror around so he could check how it looked.

They stepped outside, and Kurt was surprised to find that it was dark. He and Jack walked quickly through the woods, glancing around every so often. It was hard not to feel like they were being watched.

"Do you remember anything?" Jack asked. "Anything that could help us?"

Kurt started to say no, then something came to him. There had a been a girl in the corner of the room, when the Doctor was looking at the sick girl in the bed. Betty. That was the sick girl's name.

The beautiful girl in the corner had been sewing, making a doll. It seemed nonthreatening, but she had given the Doctor a look that made Kurt shiver. He had forgotten it in the rush to escape. "There was a girl," he said. "I don't quite know what it was about her, but I didn't trust her."

Jack nodded. "I've learned to trust hunches. We'll look into it."

They reached the village. It was completely quiet, nothing moving. Nothing but them. The moon shone faintly through the intermittent clouds.

"Which house?" Jack asked quietly.

Kurt nodded towards the priest's house, forgetting that Jack couldn't see him properly. "Over there."

The two of them crept through the village, and Kurt let Jack take the lead. He seemed to have had practice at this. They reached the door of the house, and Jack began to pick the lock.

"Isn't this a little creepy?" he whispered to Jack. "Breaking into someone's house?"

"Nah," Jack said. "I've done this loads of times."

"That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence," Kurt hissed.

Kurt dimly made out Jack's smiling at him confidently as he succeeded in picking the lock. "Don't worry. It'll be fine."

It was even darker in the house, and Kurt hoped fervently that he wouldn't knock anything over. He and Jack waited for their eyes to adjust. Once they had, Kurt took the lead up the stairs. He reasoned that the girl's room would be upstairs, probably next to the room of the sick girl. There were three doors along the hallway, with Betty's in the middle.

Kurt opened one of the doors and made a disgusted face. The priest was snoring loudly, a string of drool dripping down his cheek. Kurt closed the door as silently as he could, then tried the other.

Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the sleeping girl's face. Kurt stared at her for a moment, then looked around the room. His gaze rested on the doll he had seen her making earlier, and his eyes widened in horror. It looked like the Doctor, right down to the clothes. The only difference was the blindfold wrapped around its eyes.

"Can you see anything?" Jack whispered.

Kurt pointed at the doll, and Jack looked grim, but not particularly surprised. He guessed that Jack had seen things like this before. Kurt glided forward, trying not to wake the girl, whose chest was rising and falling softly. She looked so beautiful that it was hard to believe anything terrible of her. Of course, that didn't mean anything. Santana was beautiful too, and Kurt knew all too well how sinister she could be.

He picked the doll off of the bedside table and slipped out of the room, Jack right behind him. They got out of the house as quickly as they could without making too much noise, and Jack relocked the door behind them.

Kurt waited until they had reached the safety of the trees to talk, continuing to walk swiftly. He wanted to get to the TARDIS as soon as possible. "Is this what I think it is?"

He passed the doll to Jack, who examined it. "I've heard about these, but I've never actually seen one used."

"But... a voodoo doll?" Kurt said skeptically. "Really?"

"What's so strange about that?" Jack asked.

"It's a voodoo doll!" Kurt said. It seemed pretty obvious to him. "It's... you know." He paused, knowing he sounded ridiculous. "Magic."

"It's not magic," Jack said. "It's willpower."

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked.

"There are people who can influence events with their minds," Jack said. "But they often use something to channel that power through." He held up the doll.

Kurt stared at it in revulsion. He hated the thing, the way the blindfold squeezed around its face. "So what do we do?"

"It's simple, isn't it?" Jack said. "We take the blindfold off."

He turned the doll over and held it out. Kurt fumbled with the knot, and stuck the piece of cloth in his pocket once it was undone.

The TARDIS came into view and Kurt ran forward to open the door. "Doctor!"

The Doctor sat up and rubbed his eyes, looking around in confusion at the interior of the TARDIS.

Kurt smiled at him fondly. His hair was rumpled and he looked tired, but otherwise okay.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I think so..." the Doctor said. "What happened to me?"


	8. Motivation

**Author's Note: Here's the next chapter. Mostly just filler until the next one, but hopefully you like it anyway. :D As always, I do not own Doctor Who, Glee, or anything associated with them. Thanks for reading. :)**

The Doctor was confused. Which, honestly, didn't happen very often. He blinked up at Kurt. "What happened to me?"

Kurt had a strange smile on his face. He held out a hand, and the Doctor took it, letting Kurt pull him up. Then to his surprise, Kurt embraced him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kurt asked.

The Doctor nodded, just as Jack said, "I think he's fine."

They broke apart, and the Doctor immediately missed Kurt's warmth.

"You still haven't answered my question," the Doctor said, partly to cover his consternation and partly because he _really _wanted to know.

Jack held out a doll. The Doctor looked down at it, then up at Jack. "But... it's me."

"Yeah."

"Where did you get this from?" the Doctor asked.

"We broke into the priest's house," Kurt said.

"You broke into the priest's _house?_ Why?"

"To look for clues," Kurt explained. "We had no idea what was wrong with you, and we reasoned that something must have happened in Salem."

The Doctor nodded slowly. It was something he might have done, in an earlier incarnation. Or even in this one. "And you found this," he said musingly, looking down at the doll.

"It's a voodoo doll," Jack said. "That girl must have a lot of power."

"Which girl?" the Doctor asked, irritated. It was very disconcerting to ask the questions instead of answering them.

"The one in the corner," Kurt said. "I still don't know her name. She gave you this look..." He shuddered.

The Doctor remembered her now. The one who had been dancing in the forest. "We need to figure out her motives," he said, thinking out loud. "People don't do this sort of thing for no reason."

"I'm not really sure I can contribute anything," Jack said. He looked uncharacteristically serious.

"That's fine," the Doctor said. "Kurt? What do we know about her?"

"She was one of the girls who danced," Kurt said. "Which is apparently against the rules. I still don't know why that is," he added, looking at the Doctor.

"Puritans believed that they could drive out evil with hard work, worship, and a lack of idleness," the Doctor said. "Which included banning such things as dancing. It worked, for a time. But people aren't made to live like that, without self expression."

Kurt nodded. The Doctor could tell that he knew that all too well.

"So. Beautiful girl. Rebels against society by dancing. Town ready to explode with accusations of witchcraft. What does that give us?"

"Not much," Jack said.

"No," the Doctor said. "It gives us a girl with plans. Plans that she doesn't want interrupted. And therefore, a motive."

"A motive?" Kurt asked.

"As far as she knew, I was there to look at Betty and investigate what happened in the forest," the Doctor explained. "My guess is that whatever happened there was something she didn't want people knowing about. Therefore, she needed me out of the way." He pointed at the doll. "Which is where that comes in." The Doctor smiled to himself. It was nice to be back in control, figuring things out.

Kurt gave it a dirty look. "So what do we do?"

"We go back and find out more about the situation, and see what whether we need to step in to stop her."

Kurt had a strange look on his face.

"What?"

"You don't seem angry," the boy said.

"Should I be?"

"She made a voodoo doll of you!" Kurt said, as though pointing out the obvious. "That doesn't make you angry?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I'm sort of used to it by now."

Jack laughed, and Kurt glared at him. The Doctor was quite touched that Kurt was angry on his behalf. It made him feel cared for in a way that he hadn't for a long time.

"So. We should probably get going," he said.

"Now?" Kurt asked. He seemed to want to put off the moment of confrontation as long as possible.

"No time like the present," the Doctor said.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"What?" he asked.

"That is such a cliche."

"I'm allowed to use cliches!" the Doctor defended himself. "I'm a Lord of Time and Space." He gave Kurt his most winning smile.

"But it's so _lazy_," Kurt complained, seemingly immune to his charms.

"Fine," the Doctor said. "No cliches."

Jack smirked at him. "Already doing what he tells you..."

The Doctor raised his chin slightly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kurt looked from the Doctor to Jack and back again. "What _are _you talking about?"

"Nothing," the Doctor said hastily. "Let's get going."

Kurt sighed and pushed open the door. "After you."

They walked through the trees, no longer troubling to keep their voices down. The sky was beginning to lighten, sunlight streaming through the trees. The Doctor couldn't help but wonder if that was some sort of symbolism. The dawn of a new era or some such thing. Not that he would ever let anyone know he entertained such soppy fantasies.

"By the way," the Doctor said. "Why are you wearing a wig?"

"Um," Kurt said. "I didn't want to be recognised?"

"Besides," Jack said. "He looks good in it."

The Doctor gave him yet another reproving look. "Where did he get it?" he asked, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

"It's mine," Jack said.

"Of course."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked defensively.

The Doctor was about to reply when they heard a shout.

"YOU!"


	9. Charm

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. You guys are awesome, and you make me want to keep writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter. As you know, I don't own Glee, Doctor Who, or the Crucible, which this part of the story is loosely based on. (The original play did not involve a time traveling Doctor and his companions.) Also, I won't be able to update for a couple of weeks, because I'm going on a trip to a place with no internet during the school holidays. Sorry. :/**

"YOU!"

Kurt sighed. He had known this would happen.

The Doctor's face fell as the priest rushed towards them.

"What are you doing here?" the priest shouted. "You- you-" He seemed almost apoplectic with rage.

"I can explain," the Doctor said, holding up his hands, trying to placate the priest.

"Explain!" the priest spluttered. He calmed down slightly. "Fine. Explain why you impersonated a doctor, lied to me, and undermined my authority." His voice rose with each word.

"I am a doctor," the Doctor said. "I travel around, visiting places in need of help."

Kurt smiled at the way the Doctor managed to tell the truth, omitting just enough details to make his story acceptable.

"How was I to know you already had a doctor on the way?" the Doctor continued. "I had never been here before."

"So why did you run?" the priest asked. "If you were innocent, why did you run?" he asked grudgingly, not yet willing to believe the Doctor.

"If you remember, you accused my companion of being a witch on sight. Forgive me for being reluctant to be executed for crimes I had not committed. I have always been on the side of light."

Kurt held his breath, afraid the Doctor had crossed a line. But his fears were baseless. The Doctor seemed to have a way of inspiring trust.

"In that case, I'm sure you would be of use in our court," the priest said.

The Doctor nodded. Kurt could tell that he was surprised his explanation had been accepted so easily. Perhaps the priest was running out of options.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said, "but what was your name? I don't think we were ever properly introduced."

"Parris," the priest said.

Jack had been standing off to the side, somewhat irritated, unused to being ignored. "And I'm Jack Harkness." He wisely left out the flirty smile he had used with Kurt. It seemed unlikely that the priest would welcome his attentions.

"And what is your function?" Parris asked.

"I am also a companion to the Doctor," Jack said.

"You seem rather older than him," the priest said, looking a little confused.

"He's older than he looks," Jack said truthfully. "So. This court. What's going on there?"

The priest straightened, a self-righteous tone coming into his voice. "We have faced unwarranted opposition from many we believed to be morally sound. I cannot understand why, when all who oppose the Devil should welcome the court." His voice became louder, with the strength of one who is sure he is in the right. "We are burning away the impurities in Salem. Too long have we allowed the Devil to walk among us, his helpers unpunished. No more. My niece," he said, a note of pride coming into his voice, "has rejected Satan and helps us now to weed out those who would bring us down."

"Your niece?" Kurt asked. He had a sneaking suspicion of who this might be.

"Yes, my niece, Abigail. A wayward girl, but wholly on the side of good."

Right, Kurt thought. If she's who I think, it's her you need to be getting rid of, not the Devil.

The Doctor nodded decisively. "Of course she is," he said in a reassuring tone.

Kurt examined his face carefully, but could find no trace of irony there. The Doctor had mastered the trick of appearing completely open and innocent while concealing the truth.

"How is Betty?" the Doctor asked suddenly. "Has she recovered?"

"Oh yes," the priest answered. "She woke up soon after you left."

"May I talk to her?" the Doctor asked.

""Why?" asked Parris.

"Just to make sure she's completely well," the Doctor said.

"I suppose so," Parris said reluctantly. There was an odd note in his voice, as though he wanted to refuse, but could think of no good reason.

"Well then. Will you take us to her?"

The priest nodded, still seeming unsure. He led them towards his house, calling for Betty when they reached the door.

The girl had been sweeping the house, and looked up. "Father?" Her eyes widened in something remarkably like fear. "Who is that?"

"This is Doctor Anderson," the priest told his daughter. "He wants to question you about your illness."

"No!" Betty cried.

The priest stared at her in astonishment. "No?"

"I won't let him!"

"Betty!" the priest said. It was clear that he was unused to being disobeyed by his daughter. "You will do as I say."

"I-" Betty looked around for an escape.

"Maybe it would be better if I spoke to her alone," the Doctor said gently.

"That would be improper," the priest said hesitantly.

"I would never do anything to hurt her," the Doctor told him.

"I suppose..." the priest said. "But your companions stay with me."

Kurt opened his mouth to object, but the Doctor gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head, and he stayed silent. He and Jack followed the priest out the door, leaving the Doctor inside with Betty.

The Doctor surveyed Betty searchingly, as she stared back at him warily, waiting for him to speak. The Doctor waited, and when it was apparent that she wasn't going to speak, he began the conversation.

"Why don't you like me?"

She looked confused for a moment. Apparently that wasn't what she had expected him to ask. "You look like the doll," she whispered.

"The doll?" the Doctor asked, feigning ignorance. "What doll?"

Betty clamped shut, and he tried a different tactic. "How did you become sick?"

"It was the Devil," Betty said, trying to sound confident. But her quivering bottom lip betrayed the fact that she didn't really believe it.

"It happened after you were dancing in the forest," the Doctor said carefully.

Betty nodded, and he took it as a sign to continue. "What happened in the forest?"

"We danced," Betty said quietly.

"But that's not all that happened, is it?" the Doctor said knowingly. "Something else happened, that you don't want anyone to know about."

"Abby-" She fell silent.

"What about Abby?" the Doctor asked quietly.

"She said not to tell," the girl said. "She said she'd kill me if I told!"

"You don't have to be afraid of me," the Doctor said encouragingly. "I won't tell her."

"She drank a charm," Betty said, so quietly that he almost couldn't hear her.

"A charm," the Doctor said. This confirmed it. Even if Abigail wasn't a witch, she believed herself to be one. "What was the aim of this charm?"

"She wants-" Betty glanced around, to be sure she couldn't be overheard. "She wants John Proctor."

"And what would the charm do?" the Doctor pressed.

But she refused to answer, and the Doctor couldn't get anything else out of her.

He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for speaking to me." Then he left the house without looking back at the small girl. Outside, he found Kurt and Jack waiting for him. Parris had left to attend the court.

"What did she say?" Kurt asked eagerly.

The Doctor looked at the two of them, then spoke decisively. "We need to find John Proctor."


	10. Secrets

**Author's Note: I'm very sorry for how long it's taken for me to update. I've been without internet for two weeks. Hopefully this longer than usual chapter will make up for it. As you've probably guessed, I still don't own Glee. Or Doctor Who. Or any other story that may at some point slip into this fic. I hope you like the chapter, and thank you to everyone who has story alerted, favorited, or said nice things about this story. Especially cloudysock. It's awesome talking to you. ;)**

**P.S. The first chapter of this story is set near the beginning of Season Two, before Never Been Kissed. Just something to note.**

"Who is John Proctor?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor answered. "But apparently Abigail wants him. And that makes me think that we should talk to him about what's happening."

A miserable looking girl rushed past, and Jack stopped her. "Do you know where John Proctor lives?"

She stopped. "Yes sir." She stood there looking at her feet as they waited for her to tell them.

"Could you tell us?" Jack asked after a long pause.

She gave them directions, then scurried off.

"That was odd," Kurt observed.

"It was, wasn't it?" Jack said cheerfully, and they headed off in the direction of John Proctor.

The Doctor knocked on the door of the large farmhouse. A woman opened the door after a few moments.

"Good day," she said politely, looking worried. She was thin and drawn, perhaps having been sick recently. "Are you here to talk to my husband?"

"Yes please," the Doctor said.

"He's out in the fields," she told them, "and he won't be back for a few hours. Is it urgent?"

"No," the Doctor answered. "We can wait."

Several hours later, a tall man walked in, stopping short when he saw the three men waiting for him. A look of fear crossed his face.

"Who are you?"

"We mean you no harm, I assure you," the Doctor told him. "We only want to ask you some questions."

"She's a liar," John said immediately. "Don't believe anything she's told you!"

The woman, who had introduced herself as Elizabeth, gave him a sharp look, and he winced.

"I apologize," he said hastily. "What are you here about?"

The Doctor noted that there was some tension between the couple, and wondered what had caused it. Betty had said that Abigail 'wanted' John Proctor...

"What do you know about Abigail Williams?" the Doctor asked.

The man's face crumpled. It was what he had been dreading. "Are you here with the court?" John asked angrily. "What right do you have to question me?"

"I don't," the Doctor answered. "I have no official authority. But I am hoping to quell the madness in Salem, and I was told that you could help me."

John relaxed. "I would welcome an end to this madness," he said gravely. "What do you want to know?"

The Doctor hesitated, then asked, "How do you know Abigail?"

"She used to work for us," Elizabeth said warily. "Why?"

"Because I am afraid she will cause great harm in the near future," the Doctor said, "and I am going to do all I can to prevent it. I need to know as much about her as possible."

The two exchanged glances. The awkwardness between them seemed to become thicker in that moment. Neither of them replied.

The Doctor decided to push things forward somewhat. "Forgive me, but am I right in thinking that there was more to your relationship with Abigail than as an employer?" he asked John.

"How did you-?"

The Doctor held up a hand. "I know things. I take it that I'm correct?"

The man's face creased in pain. "I... am ashamed of that. I've tried to put it behind me, but I am becoming more and more convinced... that it must come to light if we are to mend what is wrong in Salem."

"I would urge you strongly to come forward, if you think that that would fix this," the Doctor said.

Jack and Kurt watched in silence, afraid of breaking the uneasy truce with a misplaced word, as John gave Elizabeth a pleading look.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "But we have to save them."

She sighed. "I know John. Do what you must."

He embraced her, but she remained stiff and cold for a moment before relaxing into him.

"Thank you," he said. "I love you, no matter what happens."

"I know."

The four men walked most of the way to town in silence. John seemed withdrawn, anticipating with dread what lay before him. He seemed not to notice the appreciative looks Jack was giving him.

"Stop that," the Doctor hissed. Didn't Jack understand the seriousness of the situation?

Jack laughed. "I'm not allowed to have a little fun?"

John glanced at him. "What?"

"Never mind," Kurt said hastily.

"I have a question," Jack said.

"Oh?" John replied.

"How much power does she actually have?"

"Too much," John answered. "From what I've heard, they listen to whatever she and her gang of girls say, without looking for the proof behind it."

This piqued the Doctor's interest. It sounded as though John was a skeptic, unusual in this time period. "You don't believe it?"

"I'm coming to discredit her, am I not?"

The Doctor nodded.

Jack asked another question. "So, we're likely to be in danger for our lives?"

"Great danger," John agreed. "If they don't listen to us. We could all be executed."

Kurt paled, and Jack looked at him in concern and tenderness.

"In that case..." Jack grabbed Kurt and kissed him soundly.

The boy seemed shocked, but responded for a moment before pulling away. The Doctor tried in vain to silence the roaring of the jealous monster in his chest. It was... madness. He was frozen for several long moments, then regained his senses.

"What the _hell _are you doing?" he roared at Jack. John was staring at them in astonishment, and the Doctor's heart sank. What would they do if their ally turned against them?

"I-" Jack said. "I didn't want him to die without saying goodbye?"

John was still staring at them, but surprisingly had not yet accused them of witchcraft or worshipping the Devil.

"Are you going to desert us?" the Doctor asked bluntly.

John shook his head. "I've done far worse. I don't see that there's anything wrong with that, no matter what the church says. They've been wrong about many things in the past."

The Doctor's sigh of relief was silenced when he saw the small girl watching them with wide eyes, who scurried through the door of the courthouse.

They followed her through in time to see her whispering in Abigail's ear. Icy fear gripped the Doctor as the beautiful girl opened her mouth to speak.

"I saw that man with the Devil," she said, pointing at Jack.

"NO!" Kurt couldn't stop the cry that burst out of him. He was dimly aware of all the people in the court turning to stare at him, as Jack was taken away by two of the men that had been deluded into aiding this insanity.

He came back to reality when he heard the Doctor's voice. "Kurt." He looked at the Doctor, who had, in that moment, more compassion and kindness than he had ever seen on a human face. Never mind the fact that he wasn't really human. "There's nothing you can do. I don't want them to arrest you too. We've been lucky enough that she hasn't already accused you."

"But-"

"It's going to be fine," the Doctor said. "Don't worry about it."

"But they're going to-"

"It's going to be okay."

Jack was hanged the next day at sunrise. Kurt could only watch as the man he'd grown to trust had a rope placed around his neck, and stepped off the top of the ladder, watch as the life was squeezed out of his friend. Tears streamed down his face, and he looked to the Doctor for comfort.

The Doctor was watching, dry-eyed, almost... indifferent. Cold. Distant.

"What is wrong with you?" Kurt shouted. "Didn't you care about him at all?"

The Doctor didn't answer. The crowd, which had jeered at Jack's death, gradually dispersed.

Abigail gave Kurt a malicious smirk as she left, and he wondered again why she hadn't accused him of consorting with the Devil too. Perhaps she thought that the loss of Jack was a fitting punishment, or maybe the small girl had simply omitted some of the details in her hasty whisper.

Once everyone was gone, Kurt ran forward to the gallows and climbed the ladder to reach Jack. He sawed through the rope, bracing himself by placing a hand on the branch, and winced as Jack's body hit the ground. Then he jumped off the ladder, and knelt beside the corpse.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. It wasn't really his fault, he knew. It wasn't anyone's fault but _hers._ Still, 'sorry' seemed to be the only thing he could say that wouldn't sound totally inadequate. He buried his face in Jack's shirt, sobbing.

"Kurt."

Kurt ignored him. He had nothing to say to the Doctor. Even if he hadn't cared for Jack, he could have at least _pretended_ to be sad about the man's death. If anything, it was his fault for dragging them into this. In his bitterness, he conveniently forgot that he had been a willing, if skeptical, participant from the beginning.

"Look at me."

"No."

"Kurt. Stand up. There are things you don't understand."

Kurt stood up to his full height, looking down at the Doctor. "How could you let this happen? I thought he was your friend!"

"Look."

Kurt looked down at Jack, and blinked. The marks from the rope had disappeared.

"How-?"

"Just watch."

So Kurt watched as Jack blinked, and sat up, and looked around.

"Were you hugging me?" Jack asked, sounding exactly as he had the first time Kurt met him, lively and flirtatious.

"You're alive," Kurt said dumbly.

"I can't die," Jack said.

He turned to the Doctor accusingly. "You knew."

The Doctor nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me? You let me think that he'd _died_, because- What? You thought it was funny?"

"No," the Doctor said. "It had to be believable, they had to think he'd died too. This way, we have a weapon."


	11. Confrontation

**Author's Note: I am so, so sorry that it took so long to get this chapter up! I've had exams, and I haven't really had any time to write. Which makes me sad. If you're still reading, thank you so much for bearing with me. The next chapter should be up much sooner.**

**In case anyone's interested, I'm a huge Jack/Ianto shipper, so yes, that is how you should interpret certain events in this chapter. ;) Also, reviews make me jump up and down with joy. Thanks for reading!**

**P.S. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and especially to the anon who sent me that last review. It was amazing.**

**P.P.S. As always, I don't own Glee, Doctor Who, The Crucible, or Torchwood.  
><strong>

"So how do you want this to go?" Kurt asked, and the Doctor felt his heart lighten. If Kurt hadn't forgiven him... but the boy was looking at him steadily, not with the icy anger he'd worn only minutes before.

"Hopefully in a non-dying way," Jack answered, smiling at the boy. The Doctor once again fought the inexplicable urge to strangle him. It was becoming more frequent, which worried him slightly. But as usual, he had more important things to worry about.

"We confront her," the Doctor said. "Alone."

Kurt nodded. "And how do you plan to manage that? She always seems to be accompanied by her pack of supporters."

"I'm sure we can find a way," he answered. Because he always had. It was what he did best.

In the end, he didn't have to. Abigail was walking towards the forest, by herself, at sundown. The girl glanced around occasionally, as if afraid of being spotted.

The three men walked behind her until she reached the safety of the trees. Jack hung back to wait for the right moment to reveal himself.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor asked, trying to ignore the feeling that he was being particularly creepy. It didn't really help.

She spun around. "You!" She glared at him and Kurt. "What are _you _doing? You don't belong here!"

"We just want to ask you some questions," the Doctor said quietly. He seemed to be saying that a lot lately. It sort of made him feel like a private detective, what with the creepy stalking and the persistent question-asking.

"Questions," she repeated, looking unimpressed. "What type of questions?"

"For one, why you made a voodoo doll of Dr. Anderson," Kurt said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said in a cool tone, but her eyes flicked from one of them to the other, giving the impression that she wasn't quite as collected as she seemed.

"Yes you do," the Doctor said. "And it's a fair question. I didn't do anything to you."

"How do you know about it?" she asked accusingly.

"I have experience in these matters," the Doctor replied smoothly.

_"It was next to my bed,"_ she hissed. "How could you _possibly_ know about it?"

Kurt looked suddenly shifty, and she pounced on the moment of weakness. "I can get both of you executed too. Men aren't supposed to be in young girls' bedrooms. I would have thought that your 'friend'," she emphasized the word mockingly, "dying would be warning enough."

Kurt flinched, and responded harshly. "When you say that men aren't supposed to be in young girl's bedrooms... what about you and Proctor?"

Her eyes narrowed. "How. Do you know. _Everything._"

"We're more powerful than you," Kurt said. "We can stop you."

"And we will, if we have to," the Doctor said quietly. "It would be much better if you stopped on your own. But... we can't let this go on forever."

"What are you?" she asked, studying him carefully.

"Let's just say you don't want to make him angry," Kurt said.

"You can't tell me what to do," she said angrily. "You can't stop me. I will end you if you don't stop interfering. So leave now, if you know what's good for you. And don't come back."

"I take it that you're rejecting our proposal," the Doctor said, infinite sadness in his voice.

"Obviously."

"Then... we'll need a demonstration."

Confusion flickered over her face. "What-"

Jack stepped out from behind the tree. "Miss me?"

Her eyes widened. "But you're dead."

He smiled brilliantly. "I was. But now..." he gestured at himself, "I'm not."

"You're _dead!_" She began to back away. "How..." Her eyes shot to the Doctor's face. "You did this."

He said nothing, letting her draw her own conclusions.

"You were telling the truth."

"Yes."

"I'll leave," she promised, looking terrified. "I'll go."

He nodded, and she took another step backwards.

"You'll never see me again." She turned and ran as fast as she could, never once looking back.

"So," Kurt said, after several minutes of silence. "That went well."

"As well as could be expected, I think," the Doctor said.

"Then we can leave? And never come back?" Kurt asked. "Because that part of her threat sounded pretty good to me." His foot scuffed at the ground. "I _hate _this place."

Jack stepped forward to put an arm around him, but the Doctor gave him a look before hugging Kurt to him. Kurt collapsed into him, trusting completely, and the Doctor was unreasonably grateful for the chance to comfort him like this.

"It's okay," he whispered. "You never have to come back here again."

Kurt nodded, and the Doctor gave him a tentative smile. "It's going to be okay."

Kurt straightened and stepped away from him, looking embarrassed at his moment of weakness. "Thanks."

The Doctor felt suddenly uncomfortable. "Yeah."

Jack laughed quietly, and they both glared at him. "What?" he asked, looking innocent.

The Doctor just shook his head. "Leave it alone, Jack."

The taller man smiled infuriatingly. "We should get back to the TARDIS."

"You're right," the Doctor agreed.

They walked back to the TARDIS, each lost in their own thoughts. The Doctor was considering what exactly those strange flashes of annoyance meant. He hadn't felt like this since-

He stopped himself. That couldn't be right. But it was true. He hadn't felt _jealous _like this since Rose. He glanced over at Kurt. The boy's face was lit faintly by the moonlight, which played across his face, making the Doctor catch his breath. He looked away. Okay. He was jealous when Jack flirted with Kurt. Which meant... that he might have feelings for Kurt. But that was completely inappropriate, especially when Kurt didn't have the same feelings for him.

He looked over at Kurt again, just to make absolutely certain. The boy gave him a small smile, and hope leaped in his chest. He quickly squashed it down. Kurt didn't need this.

They reached the TARDIS, and he was struck by the feeling of being home. It was comforting and exhilarating at the same time, having the whole universe and all of time to explore. He turned to his companions. "So, where do you want to go?"

"Home," Jack said. "I need to get back to Cardiff."

The Doctor looked at him in surprise. "Really? I thought you wanted to travel with us."

"I love travelling with you, honestly," Jack said. "But my team needs me. It's... strange being without them." He seemed to be leaving something out, but the Doctor wasn't about to press if he didn't want to mention it.

The Doctor nodded. "You're sure?"

Jack nodded, his customary grin lighting up his face. "Besides, I'm sure they were lost without me."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I'm sure they were."

"Was that sarcasm?" Jack said, pretending to be offended.

"No, no, never," Kurt replied.

The Doctor punched in the settings and smiled at the familiar _"WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH"._

He opened the door on to Cardiff, and stepped out confidently, breathing in 21st Century air.

"It's nice to be back where no one's trying to kill us," Kurt said lightly from behind him.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Jack said. "Someone's always trying to kill me."

"You do sort of provoke that response, don't you?" the Doctor joked.

"Hey! I'll have you know that I am worshipped on at least seventeen planets!"

"Of course you are," the Doctor sighed. "So... I guess this is goodbye for now."

Jack nodded. "I suppose. Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure."

Jack glanced at Kurt. "Alone?"

Kurt looked hurt.

"Why?" the Doctor asked.

"I just want to give you some advice. I'll be quick, I promise."

The Doctor gave Kurt a questioning look, and the boy shrugged.

"It's fine, I guess."

Jack and the Doctor walked back into the TARDIS.

"What's your advice?" the Doctor asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He wasn't happy about excluding Kurt.

"You should stop pretending," Jack said seriously.

"What do you mean?"

"I can tell that you care about Kurt as more than a friend. And I realize that you aren't really used to that, but... I've learned that just because the person you fall in love with isn't who you expected, it doesn't mean you don't love them."

The Doctor wanted to protest that he wasn't in love with Kurt, he wasn't sure exactly what his feelings were, but then a thought struck him. "You're speaking from experience, aren't you?"

Jack smiled. "Yeah. He's amazing. I think it took being away from him for me to understand that properly."

"I'm happy for you," he said sincerely. "And thank you for the advice."

"Are you going to take it?"

"I'll think about it."

Jack nodded, seeming to understand that this response was all he was going to get. "Well then. We shouldn't keep Kurt waiting."

The two men walked outside.

"It's been great, really," Jack said. "Thanks for everything."

The Doctor smiled. "You too."

Jack hugged Kurt and whispered something in his ear, making the boy smile.

"Goodbye, Jack," Kurt said. "I hope I'll see you again someday."

"Me too," Jack said, giving him one last lingering up and down look. "I'm sure you'll only get more attractive."

Kurt blushed, and the Doctor said "That's _enough._"

Jack winked at him. "Goodbye."

"Until next time."

Jack hugged him too, and whispered, "Remember what I said."

"I will."

And with that, Jack walked away. Kurt and the Doctor watched him go, then re-entered the TARDIS.

"What did he want to talk to you about?" Kurt asked.

"Doesn't matter," the Doctor said, hoping Kurt would leave it at that.

"Okay," Kurt said. "I guess if you don't want me to know, that's fine." He sounded annoyed.

"Don't worry about it, really," the Doctor said.

"Fine," Kurt said. This time he sounded like he meant it.

"Come on," the Doctor said. "We'll find you a place to sleep. You must be exhausted."


	12. Confessions

**Author's Note: I don't own Glee, or Doctor Who, or the song in this chapter, which is "Planets" by Short Stack. I just borrow things and use them for them my own twisted purposes. ;) I wasn't actually planning to use any songs in this fic, but I was listening to this one, and it just fit so perfectly... Hopefully you like it.**

**Link to the song: http: /www. youtube . com/ watch ?v=9R2xx7SgDS4**

**So! The first adventure completed, and the next begins... *cackles, rubs hands together evilly, etc* I'm pretty pleased with how this chapter turned out, as it's been planned for a while. I hope you will be too. ;)**

**Any suggestions as to future escapades and adventures would be welcome. Tell me in the comments if you have any ideas. Thank you so much for reading!  
><strong>

Kurt lay on his bed in the room the Doctor had provided for him. He was beginning to realize that the TARDIS was much larger that he had previously suspected. He was staring up at the ceiling, musing on what Jack might have said to the Doctor. And that last thing he'd whispered to Kurt. _"You should make a move. Have more confidence." _He had smiled at the time. Jack was nothing if not a boost to his self esteem. Not that it would improve his chances with the Doctor. He'd had a song running through his head all day, if there was such a thing as a 'day' anymore. He had no idea exactly how long he'd been away from Lima. He began to sing.

_I'm reaching out  
>I'm reaching out<em>  
><em>I'm reaching out to get to you<em>

_Sweetheart  
>Here's the sweet part<em>  
><em>It's five AM<em>  
><em>And your lips are still amazing<em>

Obviously._  
><em>

_But they they can't stop_  
><em>Me from falling<em>

__Can't stop me from falling...__

_Off the rooftop singing_

_What planet are you from?_  
><em>And are all the lights on?<em>  
><em>I don't know how to talk to you.<em>  
><em>And where did you come from?<em>  
><em>What planet are you on?<em>  
><em>I can't believe the things you do.<em>

Everything he'd seen since he left with the Doctor only made him more aware how tiny all the people on this planet were, but he was even more inspired to make a name for himself someday.

_I'm reaching out_  
><em>I'm reaching out<em>  
><em>I'm reaching out to get to you<em>  
><em>I'm reaching out<em>  
><em>I'm reaching out<em>  
><em>I think I'm on the same planet as you<em>

_Stop now_  
><em>Here's the break down<em>  
><em>Let's leave this town<em>  
><em>In the place of ill intentions<em>  
><em>And the cop calls<em>  
><em>Sound the alarms<em>  
><em>But they're too damn late<em>  
><em>Boom boom, baby<em>

_I'm already gone. Can't stop me now.__ None of them can touch me now.  
><em>

_What planet are you from?_  
><em>And are all the lights on?<em>  
><em>I don't know how to talk to you.<em>

_How am I supposed to say anything? It's not like he'd ever think of me as anything other than a friend._

_And where did you come from?_  
><em>What planet are you on?<em>  
><em>I can't believe the things you do.<em>

_I'm reaching out_  
><em>I'm reaching out<em>  
><em>I'm reaching out to get to you<em>  
><em>I'm reaching out<em>  
><em>I'm reaching out<em>  
><em>I think I'm on the same planet as you<br>_I think I'm on the same planet as you_  
><em>

_Sweetheart I'm here for you_  
><em>To see your pretty face<em>  
><em>As if I had the stars<em>  
><em>To capture your embrace<em>

Kurt couldn't help remembering how it had felt to have the Doctor's arms around him no matter how hard he tried. He'd felt completely safe, thrilled and comforted at the same time.

_Sweetheart I'm holding out_  
><em>Sweetheart we're pulling through<em>  
><em>Sweetheart I'm reaching out<em>  
><em>Only to get to you<em>  
><em>Only to get to you<em>  
><em>Only to get to you<em>

_Oh_ _oh oh oh oh oh  
><em>

_What planet are you from?  
>And are all the lights on?<em>  
><em>I don't know how to talk to you.<em>  
><em>And where did you come from?<em>

_Just come to rescue me and not expect me to fall for you, _Kurt thought bitterly.

_What planet are you on?_  
><em>I can't believe the things you do.<em>  
><em>I'm reaching out<em>  
><em>I'm reaching out<em>  
><em>I'm reaching out to get to you<em>  
><em>I'm reaching out<em>  
><em>I'm reaching out<em>  
><em>I think I'm on the same planet as you<br>I think I'm on the same planet as you_  
><em>I think I'm on the same planet as you<em>

"You can sing."

Kurt jumped. Had he been standing there the whole time? Kurt looked him up and down, surreptitiously. It was a reflex reaction by now, checking to make sure the Doctor was okay. His dark hair was rumpled slightly, but otherwise he seemed to be fine. "Yeah," he answered, relieved that he sounded calm.

"That was amazing," the Doctor said sincerely. He bit his lip, looking strangely vulnerable. "Did you mean all that?"

"All what?" Kurt said. He'd been hoping against hope that the Doctor wouldn't realize that the song was about him. As if that was at all possible, considering the emotion he'd put into the words.

"You know. 'Sweetheart I'm here for you'," the Doctor sang. His voice was beautiful, which sent a pang of longing through Kurt. Of course the Doctor would be able to sing on top of everything else. "'To see your pretty face, as if I had the stars, to capture your embrace'..." he trailed off, seeming embarrassed.

"Would you-" there seemed to be something blocking his throat. "Would you still want me around if I did?"

The Doctor looked so sad and understanding that Kurt almost cried. "I would."

Relief crashed down on him. The Doctor wouldn't send him away. They could still be friends, if nothing more. No matter how much it hurt, that was better than nothing.

The Doctor came over to the edge of the bed. It creaked slightly as he sat down. "Do you know what Jack said to me, when he wanted to talk to me alone?"

Kurt shook his head. He'd been pondering it ever since, but to no avail.

"He told me that I should stop pretending."

"Stop... pretending?" Kurt tried to quell the small flame of hope that burst in his chest.

"That you were nothing more than a friend."

Kurt looked up at him. This couldn't be happening. But it was. The Doctor's eyes were dark, but lit with gold sparks, and he had the longest eyelashes Kurt had ever seen on a man. His face was coming closer...

And they kissed. It was better than anything he had imagined. The Doctor's lips were soft and warm, moving against his, his body pressing close to Kurt. It wasn't fireworks, exactly. Not how they described it in all the books and movies. It was just- heat, feeling completely connected, completely unselfconscious. It was surprisingly easy, kissing. Kurt raised a hand to stroke the Doctor's cheek, marveling at the fact that even with his eyes closed, it was as though he could see everything around him.

The Doctor sat up, and Kurt reached out, wanting him back. The Doctor laughed a little, his smile wider than any Kurt had seen him wear before.

"So." The Doctor didn't seem quite sure what to say. "That was good."

"It was," Kurt agreed. That was a definite understatement. "I can't believe..."

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"That you would like me back," Kurt almost whispered.

The Doctor laughed. "Everything we've seen, and that's what you can't believe." His hand came to rest on Kurt's. It felt right. "It's silly, I suppose, but I told myself I wouldn't care about anyone again." He looked sad for a moment. "But you humans just keep finding your way into my hearts."

"Hearts?" Kurt asked, sure he'd misheard.

The Doctor laughed again, and smiled mischievously. "Didn't I tell you? I have two."


	13. Space

**Author's Note: No plot in this one, only fluff. Hopefully you enjoy it anyway. I don't own Glee or Doctor Who. If I did, Glee would most likely have a bit more continuity, and Blaine would be a senior. Reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!  
><strong>

The Doctor couldn't stop smiling. It was so wonderfulto finally give in. To let himself do what he wanted, not what he felt that he _should _do. Admittedly, it was strange kissing a man. That wasn't something he was used to, but it was strange in a good way. Different. Not that he didn't like kissing women. Kissing in general was good. Kissing Kurt was better.

He sometimes worried that if people could read his thoughts, they would completely lose faith in him. He rambled a lot more in his thoughts than he did out loud.

Kurt was smiling too. The Doctor knew this, because he couldn't keep from glancing over at him every so often. Now that they had finally admitted their feelings, it was harder to keep his eyes away from Kurt, not easier.

"Where are we going next?" Kurt asked.

"I have a few ideas."

"Oh?"

"Well, I thought that since this is technically a spaceship, it might be nice for you to actually, you know, see space." The Doctor shrugged, hoping Kurt would agree. He always meant to do this for his companions, but he rarely got a chance to impress them with spectacular galaxies and the deaths of stars. Somehow, something seemed to come up every time.

"Sounds cool. Now?" Kurt had sat up, looking excited.

"Not now. You still need to sleep."

"And you don't?"

"Sure I do."

A slightly awkward silence settled between them, neither of them wanting to bring up the question of _where_ exactly he would sleep.

He stood up and walked to the door. He couldn't decide whether the look on Kurt's face was disappointment or relief. But he wasn't sure Kurt was ready for anything more than a kiss. This was safer.

"Good night."

"Good night," Kurt answered.

He navigated the twisting corridors that would be baffling to anyone but him, noting that he should teach Kurt how to get around in here without getting lost. He reached his bedroom and lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He wondered whether Kurt was doing the same thing, and decided that he probably was. In some ways he still felt like a teenager who had just had his first kiss, which made him question whether Kurt had kissed anyone before. He would have to ask.

With those thoughts flitting through his brain, he fell asleep.

About nine hours later, he opened his eyes. He decided that it would be best to let Kurt sleep a little longer, so he prepared breakfast before waking the boy up.

He held a plate of waffles as he entered the bedroom. "Kurt?"

Kurt mumbled something incoherent and pulled the covers over his head.

"Kurt..."

"Go 'way."

The Doctor was unable to keep from smiling at this.

"Waffles?"

Kurt peeked over the top of the covers. "You have waffles?"

"I have to feed humans fairly frequently. I'm a pretty good cook, not that waffles are particularly taxing."

"You're so modest."

The Doctor gave him a winning grin. "I know. You should eat."

"Fine," Kurt grumbled.

"I can see you're not a morning person."

"Is there such a thing as morning anymore?" Kurt asked.

"Good point. Perhaps you're not a _waking up _person."

"Leave me alone."

The Doctor set the plate of waffles on the bed and left, deciding that Kurt would get up when he was ready.

Half an hour later, Kurt opened the door of his bedroom. "I'm up."

"So I see."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Can we see the universe now?"

"I've seen it before."

"But you said..." Kurt whined.

"I know." Kurt pouted, and the Doctor relented. "I'm kidding."

He led Kurt through the TARDIS to the room with the controls.

"How big _is_ this place?" Kurt asked, eyes wide.

"Big enough."

"That's not an answer," Kurt complained, but the Doctor just smiled at him and punched in the coordinates for the Medusa Cascade.

Upon arrival, he opened the door, revealing a blaze of splendor, colors weaving in and out infinitely. The Doctor smiled and turned to his right so that he could see Kurt's reaction, but Kurt wasn't there. "Kurt?"

"Yeah?" The voice came from behind him. He turned to see Kurt leaning against the console, looking wary.

"What's wrong?"

"Will I be able to breathe if I go up to the door? How do we still have air? How is any of this possible?" His voice rose higher and higher as he spoke, finally reach a pitch that hurt the Doctor's ears.

"Kurt. Do you trust me?"

Kurt nodded, still looking scared.

"Then believe me when I tell you it will be fine. This sight really is spectacular, and I want you to see it."

Kurt took a deep breath, calming himself down. "Okay." He took a few steps forward, and the Doctor grabbed his hand, pulling him closer. Kurt smiled at him, then turned to look out of the door. "Wow," he whispered, staring out at the vast expanse of space. "You're right. That really is amazing."

"Told you so."

Kurt turned to him, a teasing glint in his eyes. "This was about impressing me, wasn't it? You wanted to show off."

"I did not!" the Doctor cried, unnecessarily defensive.

"Come on. You so did." His eyes were soft and fond, at odds with his tone. Kurt reached up a hand to the Doctor's face, pulling him in for a kiss. He was careful, as though he wasn't quite sure if it would be allowed.

The Doctor had to cure him of that doubt. He kissed back with obvious enthusiasm, making Kurt hum with pleasure. When they broke apart, Kurt was smiling.

"You were trying to impress me," he said.

The Doctor relented. "Maybe a little."


	14. New

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, we've had family over for the holidays and I haven't had much time to write. This chapter is the beginning of something new, as you might have gathered from the title. I'm not certain exactly where it will go at this point, but it should be interesting. I hope you've all had nice holidays, and I wish you a Happy New Year. Also, I apologize for anything I might have gotten wrong about this particular location, never having been there. Feel free to point out any mistakes and I'll fix them if I can. Thank you!  
><strong>

Kurt gazed out at the stars, wondering whether he should have been more shocked that the Doctor was an alien, and that he had a blue box that could travel in time and space. Obviously, he hadn't believed it at first, but he had quickly accepted the new facts of his universe and adapted. He would believe anything as long as there was proof. More worrying, perhaps, was the fact that he no longer cared that the Doctor was far older than him, or that he was an alien. It didn't seem to matter, as long as Kurt was with him.

Kurt turned to look at the Doctor who was leaning nonchalantly against the console of the TARDIS. The Doctor raised an eyebrow questioningly, then smiled at him.

"Where do you want to go now?"

Kurt had been thinking about this too. At first he had simply reacted to events, doing whatever was necessary and being pulled along with the current of his new life. So when he opened his mouth, he found that his mind was already made up. "Broadway."

"Broadway?" the Doctor asked. Evidently that was not what he had expected to hear.

"I've always wanted to see a show for myself. And star in one eventually, of course."

"Well, you've certainly got the voice for it," the Doctor mused. "All right. But do you mind if I make a suggestion?"

"No..."

"We go to New New York."

"New New York?" Kurt sounded out the half-familiar name.

The Doctor grinned. "Broadway the way it was meant to be done."

Kurt shrugged. "Sure." He waited while the Doctor set the coordinates, and closed his eyes to listen to the now comforting whooshing of the TARDIS. When it stopped, he rushed to open the door, eager to see New York. Or New New York. Whatever that was.

Kurt blinked. It looked almost like he had imagined, with tall buildings and tons of people. But it seemed cleaner than he had expected. The setting sun reflected off of the buildings, highlighting how shiny they were. Also, where were all the cars?

He addressed this question to the Doctor. "Where are the cars?"

"Look up," the Doctor suggested.

Kurt tilted his head upwards, and his eyes widened at the cars whizzing past above him. "They're flying!"

The Doctor looked amused. "You didn't expect them to stay on the ground forever, did you? The traffic was terrible." The Doctor shuddered at the memory. "Nightmare. I almost lost Martha..."

"Who's Martha?" Kurt asked, trying not to sound jealous.

"She was one of my Companions, a couple of generations back. It's all right though," the Doctor said, mistaking his expression for concern. "She was fine. I found her in the end. I fixed the traffic, too."

"Right..." Kurt said. "So, New New York is in the future?" He was judging by the cars, although he did wonder why they had changed the name.

"Actually, it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York, but most people find that a bit difficult to say, so they shorten it to New New York."

"Wow," Kurt said. "What year is it?"

"Fifty-billion and ten," the Doctor answered. "On New Earth."

"Wow," Kurt said again. "And you're sure they still have Broadway?"

"Of course!" the Doctor answered. "You don't mess with things like that. It's a little different than it used to be though."

Kurt nodded, wondering what exactly he had agreed to see.

The Doctor led him through the wide streets, occasionally commenting on facets of the huge city, saying things like: "I'm glad the city seems to be working again. Those nasty little vendors are gone..." "There's the hospital, hopefully they're a little more responsible now..." and "Oh! That's new!"

Kurt just nodded, only half listening as he stared at his surroundings. The buildings were far taller than he was used to, as well as rounder and with more interesting shapes than he had previously seen. Architects in the future were obviously more daring than those in his time, or perhaps had more freedom due to technological advances. The walkways high in the air between some of the buildings intrigued him, and he decided to see if he could find his way up there later.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" he asked after about twenty minutes of walking.

The Doctor, who had been interrupted from his flow of reminiscinces, looked a little hurt.

"Do you really think I'd take you somewhere without knowing exactly where to go?"

Kurt just gave him a look. In his experience the Doctor rarely had a good sense of where he was headed.

"I guess you have a point," the Doctor conceded. "But this time I actually do know where I'm going."

He pointed at the sign announcing 'Broadway', which, out of all the things Kurt had seen so far, was the only thing that was exactly as he had anticipated. The street was lined with flashing posters proclaiming the shows on offer, and packed with people that Kurt assumed had just finished work and were ready for a night of entertainment.

"What do you think?" the Doctor asked, smiling at Kurt's expression. "Is it all you hoped it would be?"

Kurt shut his mouth, a little embarrassed. "I think I'll reserve judgement until I've actually seen a show."

The Doctor nodded. "I'm sure you won't be disappointed. What do you want to see?"

Kurt examined the signs, indecisive. Most of the names were unfamiliar but he spotted one that sent a pang of nostalgia through him. "Wicked."

The Doctor strode forward and smiled at the ticket vendor. "Two tickets for Wicked please."

The vendor smiled in return, entered in the information, and waited as the Doctor patted his pockets, looking for some money. "Aha!" He passed over some unusual coins, and the woman gave him the tickets.

"The next showing is in a couple of hours. Have fun!"

The Doctor turned to Kurt, his eyes glinting in the faint light. The sun had set while they were walking, and the moon had yet to rise. "What shall we do until then?"


	15. Darkness

**Author's Note: I'm aware that apologies seem to be the pattern for this story now, and I feel bad about that. I'm not really sure what to say about the long time between chapters, except that I've been lacking inspiration lately. Hopefully you guys will still be interested, and if not I understand. That said, I hope that you like this chapter and have fun reading. I do not own Glee or Doctor Who, and if any particular details from either show are incorrect, feel free to point them out and I'll try to fix it. Thank you!**

Kurt shrugged, although he had plenty of ideas. "I don't know. Explore?"

The Doctor beamed. "Perfect! Can I show you something first?"

Kurt tilted his head to the side. "If you want."

The Doctor grabbed his hand, and Kurt felt warmth shoot up his arm from where the Doctor's hand touched his. They walked through the city, Kurt staring around him, wanting to see absolutely everything. Despite the fact that New New York was in the future, it had a similar effect to what he had imagined for the real New York. The Doctor continued his commentary from earlier, and Kurt listened with half an ear. It was full night by now, but Kurt found that he could see more, not less. The city was lit with yellows, reds, and purples, the lights reflecting off of the buildings and creating a haze of colors.

"It's spectacular, isn't it?" The Doctor had an indulgent smile on his face. He seemed to have finally noticed that Kurt wasn't really listening. "I've been to lots of civilizations, but nowhere else has quite the same city-ness as New York."

Kurt frowned. "Really? We're just humans."

"Just humans? _Just _humans? You're humans! You're amazing and wonderful and flawed and have no idea of your own insignificance!"

"And that's a good thing?"

"Being unaware of how small you are means that you can be bigger than you ever dreamed! You have _imagination_, and that's more power than many species could ever understand."

Kurt thought about it for a moment. "I guess that makes sense."

"You can take my word for it. I know about these things." The Doctor swung their hands back and forth excitedly. "Come on, we're almost there." He ran forward, and Kurt was dragged along with him.

They had reached a hill that sloped upwards gradually, and there was a wonderful smell in the air. Once they were at the top, Kurt could see why his friend had brought him there. It overlooked the water, and there was a great view of the city, including the hospital the Doctor had pointed out earlier. The huge city sparkled with light, almost as busy as in the daytime.

"The City that Never Sleeps," Kurt murmured.

"Ah, no. That would be-" he rattled off a series of incomprehensible syllables. "But this one sleeps around four o'clock in the morning. A relatively light sleep, I'll grant you, but..."

Kurt shot him his best bitch glare.

His companion held up his hands in surrender. "What is it with humans and refusing to be corrected when you're wrong?"

Kurt shook his head. "Sometimes it's polite to just let us be wrong."

He looked confused. "But don't you want to know so that you won't make that mistake in the future?"

"Not necessarily."

The Doctor shrugged. "All right."

They sat down, shoulders touching slightly as they gazed at the city.

Kurt turned his head to glance at the Doctor, hoping to catch one of those expressions of wonder that made him look like a child. Instead, he watched the Doctor pluck a piece of grass and look at it sadly.

Kurt grabbed a handful of the grass and held it to his face. It was the source of the smell he had noticed, giving off an aroma of apples, nothing to induce misery. Yet the Doctor continued to stare at with his big brown eyes as though it had broken his heart.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked gently.

"Yeah. I didn't think-" He broke off and stuck the piece of grass in his shirt pocket. "It doesn't matter."

"Are you sure?" Kurt guessed that it reminded him of a former companion. "Did you-" he hesitated. "Did you come here with Martha?"

"Martha?" He gave a short, humorless laugh. "No."

"You just look so sad, and I thought... you know. That maybe it reminded you of someone you had lost."

The Doctor looked at him sharply. "Sometimes you're too perceptive for your own good."

Kurt could see that he'd touched a chord. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be."

"No. I'm being unfair. You just... surprised me."

They were silent for several minutes, and Kurt thought that the matter was closed.

"You were right. It reminds me of someone I used to travel with."

"What was she like?" Kurt asked tentatively.

"She was..." he paused, looking for the right words. "Kind. She cared about people. She helped me when I didn't know what to do, and she had the biggest smile you've ever seen." He smiled wistfully, his eyes far away.

Kurt wondered if he had loved her, and thought about asking, but decided he didn't really want to know. "What happened to her?"

"She was trapped in a parallel world."

"A parallel world." All of time and space, and apparently parallel worlds too. Then he realized what that really meant. He found himself identifying with this woman he had never met, considering how it would feel to lose the Doctor. "Without you?"

"At first. Later on she had a... clone, I guess you'd say. A clone of me who was human. He got to live with her." He sounded almost jealous.

Kurt imagined having two Doctors, two men with dark curly hair and hazel eyes, smiling at him. It was a strangely tantalizing thought. "But you didn't get to live with her."

"No."

He waited for the Doctor to say something soppy like "But it's okay since I have you now." He didn't. Kurt tried not to feel hurt. "How long did you travel with her?"

"A few years."

Kurt put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Me too," he replied. He stared off into the distance while Kurt examined his face. He wondered how the Doctor really felt about him, and whether, if the unthinkable happened and he was separated from the Doctor somehow, he would be mourned. It was only at moments like this that he saw flashes of how truly alien the Doctor was.

After a while, the Doctor quietly said, "We should go back."

They stood up, no longer holding hands, Kurt walking slightly behind the Doctor. The city was full of light, but Kurt now noticed the patches of darkness, with small, creeping animals skittering just out of sight. He thought he was imagining them at first, conjuring them out of the shadows that had fallen over their journey. Then one shot past his foot.

"Doctor-"

The Doctor looked over his shoulder. "What?" He looked concerned, but Kurt didn't want to bother him with something so trivial.

"N- nothing." Kurt was aware that he looked scared, and rearranged his features to an expression that he hoped was unconcerned.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

They continued to walk, Kurt sticking a little bit closer to the Doctor until they got to the theater.

The Doctor turned to him, smiling without a hint of his earlier melancholy. "You ready for this?"

"Of course!" Kurt replied, pushing his doubts and fears away. "I've been waiting for this my whole life."


	16. Wicked

**Author's Note: I finally got a chapter completed within a reasonable amount of time! You guys must be shocked. Don't worry. I am too. The last chapter turned out a lot more angsty than I expected, but it had to happen eventually, I guess. **

**As always, I'm not connected with Glee or Doctor Who in any way, aside from being a huge fan. Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. **

**P.S. Reviews make me happier than you can imagine. **

The Doctor kept the smile plastered on to his face, hoping that Kurt wouldn't see through it. As he had pointed out earlier, his companion was far too perceptive.

He guided Kurt through the doors of the theater with a hand on his waist, ignoring Kurt's look of surprise and confusion. Their tickets had granted them access to seats near the front row, perfect for viewing the musical in all its glory. Kurt was still staring around him, a look of genuine wonder on his face, which prompted a real smile from the Doctor.

"Just wait," he said as they sat down, raising his voice slightly so that Kurt could hear him over the excited chatter. "This is going to be spectacular."

Kurt beamed at him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I will owe you forever for this."

"You don't owe me anything," the Doctor assured him. "The pleasure of your company is enough."

Kurt's smile turned fond, the doubt he'd seen earlier disappearing from his eyes. "Doctor, I-"

"Shh," the Doctor whispered, pressing a finger to his lips. "It's starting."

The lights dimmed, and a spotlight appeared, shining on the red curtains. They parted, revealing the first scene. Kurt watched, transfixed, taking in the story he had loved for so long. He gasped when he noticed the effects, which looked almost like magic. The Doctor, for his part, saw them for what they were: extremely good special effects. He was pleased to see that Kurt was enjoying them as much as he had hoped when he had suggested going to this time period.

When they reached 'Defying Gravity', the Doctor was shocked to see tears in Kurt's eyes as he mouthed the words.

"Are you all right?" he whispered.

Kurt nodded, but didn't answer.

Throughout the performance, the Doctor's attention was split - part of his mind on the play, part of him watching Kurt, and part of him concentrating on sorting through the turmoil in his mind. Smelling the apple grass on the hill had reminded him of Rose, and her eventual end.

That was the problem with this regeneration. He leaped into things without considering the consequences. He followed his emotions, even when he knew intellectually that it was a bad idea. He was afraid that Kurt would become the next in a long line of companions whose lives he had ruined. They all thought that they would travel with him forever, and he loved them for that. He really did. He even, in some cases, dared to hope that it was true. But deep inside he knew that humans withered and died, while he lived on.

It would be better for Kurt if he just took him back, dropped him back into the small town in Ohio where he had grown up. But the Doctor was unable to do that. He was too weak to deny himself the happiness of being with Kurt for even a short time.

The final number ended to thunderous applause, the Doctor rising onto his feet with the rest of them.

Kurt turned to him, eyes shining. "That was _amazing. _How did they do the magic? It looked so real!"

"It was just an illusion," the Doctor assured him. "A very good one, though."

"Definitely," Kurt agreed. "I can see why you took me to see this version."

The Doctor took his hand, gripping it a little tighter than was necessary.

"Do you want to go backstage?" he asked, wanting to do something extra for Kurt while he still could.

"We can do that?" Kurt asked.

"Of course," the Doctor answered. "Backstage passes, remember?" He held up the psychic paper.

"Right!" Kurt said. "I forgot. We have backstage passes to whatever we want."

They went backstage, the Doctor holding up the paper when asked for identification.

"Oh, of course!" the man said. "Go right ahead, sir."

"What did it say?" Kurt asked.

The Doctor checked the paper. "Apparently, we donated a lot of money to the theater."

"Well, that's always handy," Kurt said, smirking slightly. He spotted one of the leads, the woman who had played Glinda. "Hey!"

"Yes?" she said, turning around, looking somewhat annoyed.

"I'm a huge fan," Kurt told her. "Would you sign my program?"

Her expression changed to a smile. "Sure. What's your name?"

"Kurt Hummel," he replied.

"Wow," she said, raising an eyebrow as she signed the program. "Your parents must have been really committed."

Oops, the Doctor thought. This was not good. He really should have checked...

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked.

"Well, it's a little over the top, don't you think? No offense. I mean, they obviously have good taste. It was your mother, right? Your father must have taken a lot of convincing..."

"What are you talking about?" Kurt pressed.

"Your _name_," she said, looking at him like he was an idiot.

"Time to go!" the Doctor interjected, tugging on Kurt's hand.

"But we just got here!" Kurt protested. "And she still hasn't told me what the problem with my name is!"

The woman just shook her head. "Call yourself a theater fan. Let me guess. You're a tourist, and you just picked the first musical you saw?"

"No, I love Wicked! I've wanted to see it since I was a little kid!"

"Then how the hell-"

"Yep," the Doctor said decisively. "We're going now." He escorted Kurt away, giving the woman a _shut up _look as he left.

Outside, Kurt jerked his hand away and glared at the Doctor. "What was that all about? Why did you drag me out of there?"

"I didn't _drag _you," the Doctor said, a little hurt.

"Pretty much," Kurt said, putting his hands on his hips. "Explain."

"I may not have done enough research before bringing you here," the Doctor said, mentally smacking himself in the head with a hammer. "That was very irresponsible of me. I'm sorry."

"Irresponsible? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I can't tell you," he replied. "You'll find out eventually." Something occurred to him. If this meant what he thought it meant... A small smile appeared on his face, which Kurt noticed immediately.

"Why are you smiling? Stop that!"

The Doctor's smile grew wider.

"You're so infuriating sometimes!"

The Doctor leaned forward and kissed him, enjoying the way Kurt immediately fell silent and responded, one hand coming up to cup his cheek. One of the Doctor's hands came to rest in Kurt's hair, while the other found his waist and pulled him closer. His tongue slipped into Kurt's mouth, earning him a sharp intake of breath. After several minutes, Kurt pulled away.

"Do you really think you can just kiss me to shut me up?" he asked angrily.

"It was worth a try," the Doctor said, neglecting to mention that he had been wanting to do that ever since he watched Kurt mouthing the words to Defying Gravity.

Kurt looked disappointed. "Please don't lie to me," he said quietly. "I want you to respect me."

"I respect you," the Doctor said seriously. "But Kurt, there are some things I can't tell you, because they would affect how your life turned out."

Kurt was unimpressed with this explanation, and it showed.

The Doctor cast around for an example. "Imagine... imagine telling Martin Luther King Jr that he was going to be shot, several years before it happened. He might have continued on the course he was supposed to. In fact, he probably would have. You can't change someone's nature just by telling them what's going to happen later on. But it will still affect what they do, every decision they make up to that point. Knowing your future is a terrible thing, Kurt. You try to avoid it, try to change the events leading up to it, but it will always happen, no matter what."

"So telling me..." Kurt said slowly.

"Might change your future," the Doctor filled in. "I don't want to do that to you. Does that make sense?"

"I guess so," he replied. "Just be honest with me whenever you can, okay?"

"I promise," the Doctor said, taking his hand. "Now, would you accompany me back to the TARDIS?"

"I will," Kurt answered, laughing at his formal manner.

They strode hand in hand through the streets, the Doctor barely noticing their surroundings as he concentrated on making Kurt laugh as often as possible, sparks shooting through him every time Kurt gave him a glowing smile.

In the back of his mind, though, there was something building, an uneasiness troubling the cheerful atmosphere. Faint noises, breaking into his subconscious. The clack of claws against concrete, a high squeaking, and the flap of wings, echoed by others scattered through the streets.

"Do you hear that?" he asked Kurt.

Kurt paused, waiting. "Hear what?"

The Doctor listened. "That," he said, once he heard the squeaking again.

"I heard them before," Kurt told him. He sounded scared. "When we were walking to the theater. What are they?"

"I'm not sure," the Doctor said, thinking. "They sound like..."

"Like?" Kurt pressed, moving closer to him for protection.

The Doctor took a step back as he caught sight of one, his arm coming around to hold Kurt tightly. "That!"


	17. Fear

Kurt shrank back behind the Doctor. The thing looked like a rat, with bat-like wings folded to its sides. The dark head turned from side to side, sniffing the air, until its black eyes fixed on him, smelling fear.

"It's a scavenger," the Doctor said. "I wouldn't have expected to see them here. This city is flourishing."

Kurt loved him for his calmness and clear thinking, no matter what they were faced with. "You recognize it then?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice steady.

"I haven't seen one since the 1300s. If they're here, it's a very bad sign."

Still clinging to the Doctor, Kurt tried to remember what he knew about the 14th Century. "Are they dangerous?"

The Doctor gave him a withering look. "Haven't they taught you anything in school?"

He flushed. "Not much, apparently. Why? Am I missing something obvious?"

The Doctor shook his head in exasperation, muttering about the uselessness of an Earth education. The rat-thing was still glaring at them, but had not yet attacked.

"We should move away," the Doctor advised. "Carefully, though."

They cautiously stepped backwards, Kurt still trying to think what was significant about the 1300s. He should know this... Then it fell into place, and his face paled. "You've been to the 14th Century, then?" he asked, voice shaking almost imperceptibly.

"Yes," came the answer. "I'll explain once we're somewhere safe."

The TARDIS was a fair distance away, so he steered them to a brightly lit restaurant, perhaps in the hope that Kurt would feel more secure out of the shadows.

"Hungry?"

"Not really," Kurt said. He felt sick. He closed his eyes for a moment, the desire to know fighting with his fear of having his suspicions confirmed. "What are those things called?"

"Nachtrattes." He studied Kurt's face, looking concerned. "Are you all right?"

Kurt shook his head. "Just get on with it."

A waitress appeared, and he ordered the first thing he saw. when she had left, the Doctor began to speak.

"I first encountered them on a distant planet. Apparently they later stowed away on the ships that came here looking for resources, and turned what had been a peaceful mission into a massacre."

"Your people brought them?"

"No," the Doctor replied. "I was in the area for a completely unrelated reason." His eyes were focused somewhere over Kurt's shoulder, looking into the past. "But I stayed to help."

Kurt smiled a little. The Doctor could never walk away from anyone who needed him.

"You've heard of the Black Plague?" he asked Kurt.

"Yes." He felt a weight settle on him, knowing that he had been right.

"It's not the nachtrattes that caused it, really."

"It was the fleas," Kurt interjected, eager to prove that he knew something about the topic. The Doctor's disdain had stung. "The rats are just carriers. But I never knew they were..."

"Aliens?" the Doctor asked, looking almost amused. "There's a lot they don't tell you, Kurt." He sighed, his face falling. "At first we thought the nachtrattes were biting people, and by the time we figured it out, it was too late to save them. You can't fight a disease the way you fight a normal enemy."

It was clear that the memory still haunted him, and Kurt covered the Doctor's hand with his own. "You can't save everyone."

The Doctor jerked his hand away. "Why not?" he cried desperately. "Why can't I just-" His hands balled into fists, and he turned away, closed off.

"I'm sorry," Kurt said uselessly.

His companion stood up, leaving some money on the table before he left. Kurt followed him, wishing he could say the right thing for once.

"We should go to the hospital first," the Doctor said quietly.

Kurt tentatively offered his hand, and when the Doctor took it, he knew he was forgiven.

They walked through the shadowy streets, and Kurt jumped at every noise, searching the darkness for signs of the creatures.

"How bad do you think it is?" he asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor answered. "They might already have it under control. Technology has definitely advanced since the Fourteenth Century."

The hospital was bright against the night sky, and Kurt found himself drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

"Brace yourself," the Doctor told him.

"Why?"

"You'll see."

Kurt continued to look around, apprehensive. The interior of the hospital was spacious and welcoming, but that was not what drew his eyes.

"What are they?" he whispered, not wanting to offend the creatures that he assumed must be the nurses.

"Cat people," the Doctor said, smiling. "We've had some run-ins in the past, but they're generally benevolent."

"Okay," Kurt said, digesting the new information. "People. Who look like cats. I can deal with that." He tried not to stare, but found it difficult. "Or are they cats who look like people?"

"The first one," the Doctor replied. "They're excellent nurses. Sometimes too good..."

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked.

"It doesn't matter. That's fixed now."

Kurt decided not to pry. They had more important things to do."

"Excuse me," the Doctor said, and one of the nurses turned.

"Yes?"

"May I speak to Novice Hame?"

The nurse looked surprised. "Does she know you're coming?"

"No, but she'll want to speak to me," he answered. "Tell her it's the Doctor."

"There are many doctors," she said.

"Don't worry, she'll know it's me."

The nurse gave him a doubtful look, but strode away to find Novice Hame.

"How do you know her?" Kurt asked.

"We've met in the past," the Doctor said. He did not elaborate.

When the novice returned, she greeted them much more warmly. "She will be happy to see you. Follow me."


End file.
